Police open 72-hour hunt after seventh woman found dead in Ekurhuleni

A woman’s body was found beside a road in Kwa-Thema, Springs, on Tuesday morning, the seventh woman found dead in and around Ekurhuleni since the middle of July. She has not yet been identified and police have not said how she died.

The discovery brings the number of women’s bodies found in the area over the past two months to seven. Most were found in exposed places, including roadsides, open veld and ground behind buildings. Police say most were found partially clothed and with visible bruising. Four of the women had reportedly been sexually assaulted.

As CapeTown ETC reported on 15 September, police are working to establish whether the cases are connected to one perpetrator or involve several suspects, and have not drawn a conclusion.

What is known about the cases

The first woman, aged 37, was found near the R21 on 15 July. She was unclothed and restrained with cable ties. Her boyfriend was arrested and remains in custody, and that case is the only one so far in which a suspect has appeared.

A partially clothed 32-year-old woman was found on 24 August. A third woman, unclothed and badly decomposed, was found on 10 September. On Monday morning a man walking to work found the body of a fifth woman, believed to be in her thirties, in a veld in Olifantsfontein.

One of the victims has been named. Elizabeth Moselakgomo, known to her family as Tsontso, left for a run after work on Wednesday, 9 September and did not come home. Her eight-year-old daughter raised the alarm. Her badly beaten body was found on Saturday, and her family identified her on Monday, 14 September. Investigators have not established whether her death is connected to the others.

Two of the victims have so far been identified. The remaining women are known to police only by the circumstances in which they were found.

The police response

Deputy national police commissioner Lieutenant-General Tebello Mosikili briefed reporters at Kempton Park police station alongside acting Gauteng commissioner Major-General Fred Kekana and Ekurhuleni metro police chief Isaac Mapiyeye. She said a 72-hour investigation had been launched, drawing on detectives, forensic investigators, the K9 unit, tracing teams, metro police and crime intelligence.

Police said they were following leads and hoped to make progress by the end of the week. The activation of a 72-hour plan is standard practice in South Africa for a serious and unresolved case, and it puts a clock on the first phase of the work.

Acting police minister Firoz Cachalia and acting national police commissioner Lieutenant-General Puleng Dimpane are due to meet the investigating team for an update on the evidence gathered and the steps being taken to identify and apprehend whoever is responsible.

Cachalia said the discovery of multiple women’s bodies in the Kempton Park area was deeply disturbing, and that a multidisciplinary investigation had been set up to examine possible connections between the cases, identify those responsible and bring them to justice.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has called for urgent action, saying the killings are causing fear and uncertainty, particularly among women.

What it means for people living here

Women in Kempton Park, Kwa-Thema, Olifantsfontein and the surrounding townships are changing how they move. Routes that were routine, a run after work, a walk to the taxi rank at first light, are being reconsidered, and the families of the women who have not come home are waiting on identifications that arrive slowly.

Police have asked the public not to spread unverified information or make accusations without evidence while the investigation is active. That appeal matters in a case like this one, where a wrong name circulated on social media can reach a family before the police do.

Anyone with information that could assist investigators can contact Warrant Officer Elvis Manyike on 082 465 7249.

The investigating team is due to report back on the evidence and the progress of the 72-hour investigation by the end of the week.

Source: CapeTown ETC, Update: Seventh woman found dead as East Rand murder probe grows.