Women shot dead a few kilometres from Men’s Indaba venue

Staff reporter

Bloemfontein – Millions were spent on the recent Men’s Indaba at Lemo Park in Mangaung, yet the blood of women continues to stain the streets just kilometres away. If the event was meant to make an impact, the evidence on the ground suggests it failed.

Organised by the Free State Provincial Government, the Indaba was marketed as a bold intervention against Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF). Instead, it unfolded like a polished public relations exercise — speeches delivered, cameras flashing, politicians applauding themselves.

This past weekend alone, at least three women were killed. Two of those murders occurred in Namibia Square — a stone’s throw from Lemo Park — where dignitaries recently gathered, made promises, and left. The violence, however, stayed behind.

Police are currently searching for Lloyd Jacobs in connection with alleged crimes.

But the crisis in Mangaung runs deeper than one suspect. GBVF has terrorised communities for years, and no amount of conference talk will fix a system that repeatedly fails women.

In Turflaagte, only a few kilometres from the Indaba venue, a woman was allegedly assaulted by her tenants. No arrests. No accountability. Just another case added to a growing list.

WATCH

Weeks ago, a man was reportedly found in possession of a human skull.

Yet leaders believe the solution lies in round-table discussions and photo opportunities.

Communities are demanding action — not speeches.

In another shocking case, a senior Mangaung employee, Luzuko Ntlebeza was killed while knocking off from work. To date, no arrests have been made.

In a separate incident, another Mangaung employee, Seipati Lechoano, was murdered and her body dumped in the boot of her vehicle in the parking area of the Mangaung Metro building — a place meant to symbolise governance and public service.

On the 25 January 2026, Relebohile Makhore, 20, was murdered.

The ANC once promised “a better life for all.” For many women in Mangaung, that promise rings hollow. Safety remains a slogan, not a lived reality.

Factors contributing to crime like unemployment, poverty, illegal immigration and drugs are never on the agenda when politicians address safety and crime.

Hundreds of of trained Mangaung Metropolitan Police Department are idling at home instead of helping the sane city to fight crime.

How many more women must die before government programmes move beyond press statements and into real protection?

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