Police spokesperson, Sergio Kock, tells OFM News a 26-year-old man allegedly hacked his 27-year-old girlfriend to death with a panga. He says the incident allegedly happened on Sunday morning at around 07:30 at the victim's shanty at the Asgat informal settlement in Hartswater.

Kock says the motive for the murder is unknown at this stage but the police are investigating the matter. The 26-year-old has been arrested and is in police custody.

The murder of the Asgat resident is just one of the many other gruesome murders of young women that are gripping the country.

Other victims include the 28-year-old Tshegofatso Pule, who was 8 months pregnant at the time of her death.

Pule was found hanging from a tree in Durban Deep in Roodepoort and it is reported that her boyfriend was the last person to see her alive. The police said he had been questioned but not arrested.

In another shocking murder incident, the 25-year-old Naledi Phangindawo was stabbed to death in Mossel Bay in the Western Cape last Saturday.

The murder of women in the country has even prompted the reaction of President Cyril Ramaphosa, who condemned the incidents. In a statement, Ramaphosa said it has been a "dark and shameful week" for his country following a surge in violence against women.

"While this needs society-wide action, I call on you, in particular, to take up the struggle against gender-based violence. Unless we end the war that is being waged against South African women, the dream of a new society will remain elusive," he said.

 OFM News