For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Halima Frost.

Making headlines: DA offers collaboration in East Rand murders; Amnesty International demands SA criminalise femicide to expose crisis; And, Nigeria forces open fire at protest over deaths of detained miners

DA offers collaboration in East Rand murders

The DA today said it is willing to work with anybody who “genuinely” wants to take action in delivering justice to the families of the women whose bodies were recently found across the East Rand, in Gauteng, as it stressed that policing is political.

After the discovery of the body of a ninth victim in Ekurhuleni, DA Gauteng leader Solly Msimanga said women in the province needed more than just advice on how to avoid becoming victims.

He said the DA is ready to work with government, the police, communities and civil society to find these killers and prevent further deaths. But, he said collaboration requires government to engage with criticism in good faith and not dismiss it as political opportunism because it doesn’t like a mirror being held up to itself.

The DA has pledged a R500 000 reward for information that leads to the identification, apprehension and conviction of the person/s responsible for the murders and has also launched a petition rallying residents and women across the municipality to reject government instructions urging women to "protect themselves" and to rather demand systemic accountability.

The DA is urging the Gauteng provincial government to collaborate with willing participants to find the perpetrator/s of the murders.

Amnesty International demands SA criminalise femicide to expose crisis

Amnesty International South Africa is urgently calling on the State to recognise femicide as a distinct crime, warning that failure to do so leaves the targeted killing of women largely unaddressed.

Femicide, defined as the gender-motivated killing of a woman because she is a woman, is currently not classified as a separate offence under South African law.

Instead, these deaths are categorised under general murder statistics, a practice that advocates argue masks the systemic nature of the crisis.

South Africa continues to grapple with some of the highest femicide rates globally.

According to the latest annual crime statistics, 5 578 women were murdered between 2023 and 2024 – an average of roughly 15 women killed every day.

Despite these stark numbers, the true scale of the violence remains obscured. The South African Police Service has not published disaggregated crime data regarding the murder and assault of women and children since August 2025, citing internal accuracy concerns that require investigation.

And, Nigeria forces open fire at protest over deaths of detained miners

Security forces opened fire in a city in central Nigeria today as hundreds of people took to the streets to protest against the deaths of 37 detainees in the custody of a paramilitary force, witnesses said.

The victims were found dead yesterday in the cells of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, which had raided suspected illegal gold mines and locked up dozens of miners in Minna, the capital of Niger State. 

The government has promised an investigation into the deaths and suspended some senior officials but anger over the incident led to clashes overnight and into Friday.

A Reuters witness saw security forces fire live rounds as protesters - some armed with sticks, machetes and traditional hunting rifles - called for justice. Some protesters tried to set fire to government buildings in the Tunga neighbourhood.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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