Police put R400 000 on the table as eight Ekurhuleni cases are worked as one
A specialised SAPS team is now investigating the deaths of eight women found across Ekurhuleni since July, and police say identifying the unknown victims is the fastest route to an arrest.
Eight women have been found dead across Ekurhuleni since the middle of July, and police are now working the cases as one investigation, with a R400 000 reward on the table for information that leads to an arrest.
Acting national police commissioner Puleng Dimpane announced the reward on Tuesday night at a media briefing at the South African Police Service’s Gauteng headquarters in Parktown. A team of specialised investigators has been assembled, with support from crime intelligence and other specialists, and has been working the cases since the first body was found.
Dimpane said the money is meant to pull information out of the public that the police do not already have.
“Any information that we can get. there is R400,000 that we are putting on the table so that we are able to strengthen our investigations.”
She also made a direct appeal to families in the area who cannot account for a relative’s whereabouts.
“The sooner we identify these victims, the quicker it will assist us to follow specific leads as well as to crack these particular cases.”
What the record shows, case by case
On 15 July, the body of a 37-year-old woman was found in an open field near the R21 highway in Kempton Park. She was naked and restrained with cable ties. A suspect, reported to be her partner, was arrested on 17 July in connection with her murder.
On 24 August, a 32-year-old woman was found near the R21 highway in Kempton Park, partially clothed.
On 7 September, a woman believed to be in her late twenties was found floating in a river in Clayville, near Thembisa Mall in Olifantsfontein. She was found wearing only underwear. Acting Gauteng police commissioner Fred Kekana, speaking at the Kwa-Thema scene on Tuesday afternoon, said that case would be folded into the broader investigation. Dimpane later confirmed a second body had been found in Olifantsfontein on the same day, a case she said had been picked up late.
On 10 September, an unidentified woman was found in Kempton Park at about 10.20am. Her body was naked and in an advanced state of decomposition. Police are relying on forensic processes to establish who she was.
On 12 September, the remains of Elizabeth “Tsontso” Moselakgomo, 38, were found partially naked and bruised in Rhodesfield, Kempton Park. Her eight-year-old daughter had reported her missing on 9 September after she did not come back from her usual run. Her family identified her positively on 14 September.
On 14 September, a passerby spotted a body in Olifantsfontein and alerted the authorities. The woman was partially naked and bruised, and police suspect her body had been dumped there.
On 15 September, the body of a woman believed to be in her thirties was found behind a shop in Kwa-Thema, Springs. She was naked and in a state of decomposition.
Where the investigation stands
Police are examining the eight cases collectively to establish whether they are linked. That link has not been established, and the police have not said the cases are connected. Several of the women have not been identified, and the forensic work to name them is the part of the investigation the public can most directly help with.
Dimpane said the community, the media and other stakeholders all have a role in maintaining law and order, and that the reward is intended to strengthen the investigation rather than replace it.
What it means for people living here
For families in Kempton Park, Clayville, Olifantsfontein, Rhodesfield and Kwa-Thema, the practical effect of the appeal is this. If a relative has not been accounted for, the police want that report now, because an unidentified body cannot be matched to a lead until somebody comes forward to name her. The R400 000 is available to anyone whose information leads to an arrest, and the specialised team, the crime intelligence support and the forensic work are already in place.
The investigation is active, the reward is standing, and the police have asked families in the area to come forward. Anyone with information can contact the SAPS investigating team or their nearest police station.
Source: IOL, R400 000 reward offered as Police launch specialised investigation into eight Ekurhuleni deaths
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