Policing forum outraged after body of yet another young woman found in Delft

THE Delft Community Policing Forum (CPF) reacted with outrage after the body of yet another young woman was found at the weekend.

The discovery of the body of an unidentified woman in an open field on Saturday night came five days after the body of a teenager, Akhona Mncume, was found in a street.

On Tuesday morning at 5am, residents discovered the body of the 19-year-old with multiple gunshot wounds to the head in Dove Court.

According to reports, Delft police were on patrol when passers-by alerted them to a body lying in a pool of blood. Mncume was declared dead at the scene by paramedics.

Police spokesperson Andrè Traut yesterday said the circumstances leading to the killing of the unknown woman were being investigated.

“It appears that she was strangled; however, a post-mortem will be conducted to determine the exact cause of her death,” said Traut, adding that no arrests had yet been made in connection with both murders.

Delft CPF chairperson Charles George said this was of great concern to residents, especially because of the failure to protect women and children. “The community is shocked by the gruesome murders. We were still trying to find answers on why a 19-year-old would be riddled with bullets, and now we hear of another incident. It’s concerning how violence has increased.

“It seems that women and children are increasingly becoming unsafe in our communities,” said George.

“The body of the woman, who we are calling on the community to help identify, was found next to bushes that are opposite a local school. It is believed that she was in her 20s. We are calling for those bushes to be destroyed because of the criminal activities. We also hope that the perpetrators will be arrested soon so that the community will be calm.”

Ilitha Labantu spokesperson Siyabulela Monakali said different measures were needed to fight violence against women. “We need to see the implementation of transformative measures that seek to address this scourge. We also urge communities to play their role,” Monakali said.

Anyone with information about the unidentified woman’s murder can anonymously contact Delft police at 021 954 9011; 082 5222 036 or Crime Stop at 0860 010 111, and those with information on the shooting of Mncume can contact Detective Sergeant Thobele Nzimani at 021 954 9068.