Police name nine Ekurhuleni murder victims as three suspects appear over Dawn Park killing

The South African Police Service has named the nine women killed in Ekurhuleni since July, and three people have been arrested over the most recent of those deaths, that of Jabulile Ntimba.

Ntimba’s body was found in Villa Liza township, near Dawn Park, on 17 September 2026. She was found partially clothed. She was the ninth woman found dead on Gauteng’s East Rand since the start of July.

As The Citizen reported on 21 September 2026, preliminary findings suggest her killing could be connected to a dispute over a romantic relationship. That assessment came from Deputy National Police Commissioner Tebello Mosikili.

The three arrested, a man and two women, were taken into custody in Gauteng over the weekend of 19 and 20 September. Two of them appeared in court on Monday 21 September. The police service described the arrests as a breakthrough in the Dawn Park case.

Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi welcomed that breakthrough, according to The Citizen’s account of the day’s developments.

What the naming of the victims means

Publishing the names of the nine dead women is a procedural step, and it matters to the families involved. In a serial investigation, relatives of missing women are left waiting on a formal identification before they can bury anyone or pursue a case. Naming the victims publicly also allows anyone with information about any of the nine deaths to come forward, and it lets the police service be held to a specific list rather than a running total.

The nine killings are being investigated as a series on the East Rand. The arrest of three people in connection with the ninth death does not, on the record available, establish that the same person or people were involved in the earlier eight.

A separate case, and a call on Home Affairs

Also on Monday, Deputy Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities Mmapaseka Steve Letsike called on the Department of Home Affairs to consider action over a man accused of threatening women with lethal violence at a Sandton establishment after they rejected his advances.

Letsike condemned the alleged conduct and welcomed the consequences that followed, including the man’s removal from his corporate positions and the termination of his lease. Her office said it would petition the home affairs minister to urgently consider the man’s presence and immigration status in South Africa.

The man, publicly identified in the statement as Lawrence Chamurwa Mudzinganyama, handed himself over to Randburg Police Station. He was arrested and released on a warning to appear in court on 1 October 2026.

A warning to appear is a court date, not a finding. The allegation against him has not been tested in court.

Joe Ferrari returns to the Madlanga commission

Taxi industry figure Johannes “Joe Ferrari” Sibanyoni told the Madlanga commission on Monday that the inquiry had been procedurally unfair to him.

Sibanyoni returned to the commission at the Brigitte Mabandla Justice College in Pretoria, having previously appeared before it on 28 August. In a supplementary affidavit he raised objections to the timing of evidence disclosures and to questions he believes fall outside the commission’s mandate.

The commission has not yet responded to those submissions on the record available.

Gauteng goes after drivers who damage traffic lights

The Gauteng Department of Roads and Transport says it has lodged claims against motorists accused of damaging traffic-signal infrastructure at the intersection of Hendrik Potgieter and Nic Diedericks Street in Roodepoort.

Gauteng MEC for roads and transport Kedibone Diale-Tlabela said three incidents reportedly involving drunk driving had been identified. “To date, three motorists allegedly involved in drunk-driving incidents that resulted in damage to road infrastructure have been identified,” she said.

Diale-Tlabela said ongoing vandalism, theft and vehicle-related damage to traffic signals continued to place significant pressure on limited public resources. A broken signal at a busy intersection is a cost to the department and a risk to every driver and pedestrian who uses it, which is the reasoning behind recovering the money from the people blamed for the damage.

Source: The Citizen, In case you missed it: Ekurhuleni murder ‘love triangle’ | Joe Ferrari cries foul | Call for Home Affairs to act against Mudzinganyama