The first incident was reported on Saturday (7/11) at approximately 03:40, when police were summoned to a possible murder scene in Le Roux Street. On arrival, officers were approached by a member of the neighbourhood watch, who directed them to an abandoned building. Inside, they discovered a woman lying motionless.

The victim was found half-naked with multiple injuries to her head and stomach, Free State police spokesperson Lt. Col. Thabo Covane said. Emergency Medical Services personnel declared her dead at the scene. She was later identified by her next of kin as Nthabiseng Moiloa, 32.

Preliminary investigations revealed that she had sustained multiple stab wounds. Police are also not ruling out the possibility that she may have been sexually violated, Covane said. 

The second crime scene was attended to on Sunday (8/11) at approximately 18:00. Covane said children playing at an abandoned building near the Day Care Centre in Masilo, Theunissen, discovered the body of a half-naked woman inside a toilet.

The woman had sustained serious head injuries, and her body was in a state of decomposition. She was identified as Kedibone Hlabahlaba, 25. The motive behind the two separate murders remains unclear, and no arrests have been made. Investigations into both incidents are ongoing.

Free State social development MEC Mathabo Hlalele strongly condemned the brutal murders, describing them as a painful reflection of the unfinished struggle for women’s emancipation.

She emphasised that political freedom remains incomplete for as long as women continue to live under the threat of violence, abuse, and femicide.

“We cannot celebrate the gains of democracy while women are being violated and murdered in their own communities. The continued killing of women is an assault on their dignity, constitutional rights, and the democratic values for which generations of South Africans fought. Patriarchy, toxic masculinity and gender inequality must be confronted decisively.”

Hlalele also challenged men and boys to move beyond being spectators in the fight against GBVF and become active agents of social transformation.

As the country prepares for the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence and Femicide campaign, she cautioned that the fight against violence must extend beyond annual commemorative events and slogans.

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