"We're Tired”: Defiant Female Runners Defy Fear to Run in Solidarity After Kempton Park GBV Murders
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- The Running Women posted a powerful tribute for every woman who has ever felt afraid while out on a run
- A member of the Leave No Woman Behind programme, Tsontso, was among those remembered after the Kempton Park murders
- Female runners across South Africa took to the streets in defiance, refusing to let fear keep them from doing what they love
Source: Facebook
Women across South Africa laced up their running shoes and hit the streets in an act of collective defiance on 14 September 2026. The movement came in response to the Kempton Park GBV murders, which claimed multiple lives, including the life of a runner, Tsontso Moselakgomo, and shook communities across the country.
Running group The Running Women posted a striking graphic of two women running at night, with a message that resonated deeply with South African women:
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"For every woman who has changed her route, lowered her music or quickened her pace out of fear."
The post acknowledged a painful reality that female runners know well. Many routinely adjust their routes, avoid running after dark, share their live locations with loved ones, and stay alert to every sound around them. These habits are not choices made freely. They are survival strategies.
Honouring Tsontso through running
Tsontso was a member of the Leave No Woman Behind programme, an initiative founded by Vuvu and co-founder Fundiswa Ngxishe to encourage women to take up running and believe in themselves. A fellow runner shared a video of herself running in Tsontso's honour, thanking the wider running community for showing up and calling on everyone to keep fighting gender-based violence.
View the Facebook post below:
Share grief and resolve online
Women in the comments on The Running Women's Facebook page shared their pain and their resolve:
Ruth Gloster wrote:
"Unfortunately it's very very difficult to keep positive in this country.... how we used to be carefree and happy...."
Granjan Janet shared a poem:
"We are women who carried the sun on their heads and their children on their backs, who said wathint' abafazi, wathint' imbokodo [you strike a woman, you strike a rock] - but rocks are being broken now... We are tired of vigils. We want mornings."
Jana Jordaan said:
"It is so sad that we as women should adjust our lives to do something we love. My prayers go out to her family and friends 🙏"
Michelle Marillier wrote:
"I carry THREE weapons on me when I run or walk."
Heike Herbst noted:
"This is not JUST a woman thing!!! Very many men are affected too."
Reinet Kotze said:
"In today's life, women should carefully choose the route they take."
More Briefly News stories on Tsontso
- Elizabeth “Tsontso” Moselakgomo’s confirmed death has left fellow runners grieving, while concerns about safety in Kempton Park continue to grow.
- Tsontso’s family is awaiting post-mortem results and making funeral arrangements after identifying her body, as police investigate the deaths of five women in Ekurhuleni.
- Laerskool Kempton Park paid tribute to Tsontso, who was identified as the fourth victim in a series of women found dead in the area.
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Source: Briefly News
