Ted Magerman Revisits Sjava’s “Impilo” Music Video As Kempton Park Killings Renew SA’s GBVF Crisis
Ted Magerman Revisits Sjava’s “Impilo” Music Video As Kempton Park Killings Renew SA’s GBVF Crisis. Nearly a decade after directing Sjava’s “Impilo” music video, Ted Magerman has found himself reflecting on the message behind the visual as a string of killings involving women in and around Kempton Park sends fresh shockwaves through South Africa.
Eight women have now been found dead in the broader East Rand area since July, according to reports published on September 17, with the cases spanning Kempton Park, Olifantsfontein, KwaThema and surrounding areas. Police have intensified their investigation, although authorities have not confirmed that the deaths were committed by a single perpetrator.
One of the victims was 38-year-old Elizabeth “Tsontso” Moselakgomo, who disappeared after going for her regular run in Kempton Park. Her family later identified her body at the Germiston mortuary. Her death has particularly resonated with South Africa’s running community, with runners and community members organising memorial activities in her honour.
Against that backdrop, Magerman revisited the meaning behind “Impilo”, the 2017 Sjava music video he directed. “I directed Sjava’s Impilo music video 9 years ago,” Magerman wrote. “The message was clear, make the truth as real as possible.”
The director pointed specifically to a moment in the visual that has taken on a deeper meaning amid the current crisis. In the video, Sjava approaches a violent crime involving a woman. When he stops and looks at what is happening, the violence freezes.
Magerman explained that the creative decision was intended to communicate the importance of witnessing violence rather than simply walking past it.
“There was an element I added that I feel very strongly about now,” he wrote. “In the video Sjava walks up to the crime against the women happening and when he stops to looks, the crime immediately freezes (STOPS).”
For Magerman, the message extends beyond the music video. He placed particular emphasis on the responsibility of men to confront violence against women rather than remaining silent when they encounter it.
“The real truth is none of us men will know the fear women have towards us, because some of us men don’t do enough to stop these crimes from happening around us,” he wrote. “Some of these men are friends, fathers, brothers even sons, and until we shed light on them, it won’t stop.”
His reflection ended with a reference to Isaiah 1:17, which calls on believers to “Learn to do right, seek justice, defend the oppressed.”
Magerman then connected the message to the women in his own family and the future he hopes to have.
“I am Ted Magerman, a son to a mother, brother to three sisters, uncle to six nieces, and one day husband to one wife and father to daughters, God willing,” he wrote. “I dare not look away.”
The director’s comments come as anger and fear continue to grow around the deaths in Gauteng. Police have established a specialised task team to investigate the cases and determine whether there are connections between them. At least one suspect is already in custody in connection with an earlier killing, while investigators continue examining the wider cases.
The deaths have also renewed wider concerns about gender-based violence and femicide in South Africa, with communities calling for stronger action and accountability.
For Magerman, the significance of “Impilo” now extends beyond what audiences saw on screen in 2017. The visual once used a moment of stillness to show what happens when someone stops and confronts violence.
Nearly nine years later, his message remains the same: seeing violence should demand a response.
“I dare not look away.”
