Ex-Orlando Pirates Star Michael Morton Slams Kempton Park Blackout Amid GBVF Crisis
- Former Orlando Pirates midfielder Michael Morton called out failed street lighting and non-functioning traffic signals in Kempton Park after arriving there late on Thursday night
- Morton's post on X drew over 182,000 views as residents across Ekurhuleni and Tshwane shared similar experiences of unlit streets
- His criticism came as Kempton Park sits at the centre of a mounting GBVF crisis, with nine women's bodies recovered in the East Rand since July 2026
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Former Orlando Pirates midfielder Michael Morton has publicly criticised the state of Kempton Park's municipal infrastructure, raising concerns about the dangers facing women in an area already gripped by a series of unsolved killings.
Source: Twitter
Morton, who now works as a football content creator, took to X on 17 September 2026 after driving through Kempton Park following an Orlando Pirates match.
Arriving at his hotel near OR Tambo International Airport at approximately 10 pm, he found neither a single working street light nor a functioning traffic signal in the area, describing the situation as "not a SINGLE street light" and "not a single robot" operational. "What a disgrace," he wrote, questioning how authorities could claim to be protecting women while basic infrastructure had collapsed around them.
''Just drove to my hotel at the airport in Kempton Park at 10pm after the Pirates game..
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Not a SINGLE street light is on, not a single robot is working… COMPLETE DARKNESS where we are supposedly on high alert and in a state of emergency!?
What a disgrace..
but the powers at be try to convince us they are doing all they can to protect our women.. but they can’t even keep the lights on.''
Kempton Park at the centre of a murder crisis
Morton's frustration surfaced against a deeply troubling backdrop. Since 15 July 2026, police have recovered the bodies of nine women across the Ekurhuleni metropolitan area in the space of roughly two months. The first victim, a 37-year-old woman, was found near the R21 in Rhodesfield, Kempton Park. The victims have largely been discovered partially naked and battered, prompting widespread fears that a serial killer or organised group may be operating in the region.
The killings have drawn condemnation from civil society and sporting organisations, and have intensified pressure on a government that declared gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF) a national disaster on 21 November 2025 under the Disaster Management Act. The declaration placed overall responsibility with the President and Cabinet and unlocked emergency funding mechanisms.
As seen in the post below on X.
Infrastructure failures compound the danger
Despite the declaration, the violence has continued. Between April and June 2026 alone, the South African Police Service recorded 569 women murdered and 9,201 reported rapes. Frontline organisations report that approximately 90% of shelters supported by the National Shelter Movement of South Africa are still struggling with funding nearly a year into the declared disaster.
GBVF specialists have long argued that policy declarations alone cannot protect women in the absence of functioning municipal services, including lighting, policing, social support, and accessible courts. The conditions Morton described in Kempton Park are precisely the type of infrastructure failures that activists say heighten the risk for women moving through public spaces at night.
Morton, born on 7 March 1989 in Randburg, made his senior debut at Orlando Pirates between 2008 and 2011 and went on to represent Maritzburg United, SuperSport United and AmaZulu, among other clubs, before retiring from professional football.
Siya Kolisi urges South African men to take action
Briefly News previously reported that Springbok captain Siya Kolisi shared a video on Instagram urging South African men to take action against gender-based violence
Kolisi's post comes as police investigate the deaths of at least nine women found in the Ekurhuleni area since July
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Source: Briefly News
