The Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality said on Friday that it would be investigating the apparent lack of security at City Hall after the walls and pillars of the building were spray-painted with anti-gender-based violence images.
Officials arrived at City Hall on Friday morning to find the walls and columns adorned with various images, including that of slain UCT student Uyinene Mrwetyana.
Municipality spokesperson Mthubanzi Mniki said that while they were sympathetic, the overnight action amounted to vandalism.
He said the Municipality condemned it because it's criminal.
"It's also unacceptable for people to do such a thing on a municipal structure or any other structure for that matter. The question of where the security was when this happened is going to be followed up and an internal investigation will be done," Mniki added.
Mrwetyana has become a significant symbol in campaigns against the prevalent scourge of violence against women and children in the country after she was raped and murdered inside the Claremont Post Office in Cape Town last month.
A 42-year-old Post Office employee has already confessed to murdering the 19-year-old film and media student.
The latest crime statistics released on Thursday show that 2 271 women were murdered in the last financial year which is a decrease of only 159 cases compared to the year before.
Several protests marches against gender-based violence were scheduled for Johannesburg and East London on Friday.
