Seven women found dead in Ekurhuleni as police warn joggers and Ramaphosa orders priority probe

Seven women have been found dead across Ekurhuleni since the middle of July, the most recent body discovered on Tuesday, and the South African Police Service has told women in the area to take extra care when they run or walk alone.

As Deutsche Welle reported on 15 September, police are investigating the deaths together, though they have not confirmed that a single perpetrator is responsible. The service says the similarities between the cases are serious enough to justify a public warning and a wider investigation.

What police have said

SAPS spokesperson Athlenda Mathe said the service has not, at this stage, confirmed that the deaths are linked to a serial killer, but that the similarities are sufficiently concerning to issue a public warning and intensify investigations.

“We are still investigating whether we are dealing with one perpetrator or a group of men that are behind the murders of these women,” Mathe said.

President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday ordered police to prioritise the investigations, saying the deaths were causing fear and uncertainty, and promising that no stone would be left unturned.

What is known about the cases

The bodies have been found at several locations across the Ekurhuleni metro, east of Johannesburg.

The first victim, a 37-year-old woman, was found naked and bound with cable ties on 15 July. A suspect was arrested two days later.

A 32-year-old woman was found partially clothed on 24 August. A woman’s body found in a river near Tembisa on 7 September has now been added to the wider investigation.

One victim, aged 38, left her eight-year-old daughter at home to go jogging and did not return. Her partially clothed body was found behind a hotel on 12 September. Another woman’s body was discovered in Kwa-Thema on Tuesday.

Several of the victims were found naked or partially clothed, and some showed signs of sexual violence.

What is not established

Police have not said the cases are the work of one person. They have not named a suspect in any case beyond the arrest made in July, and they have not said whether that arrest is connected to the later deaths. No motive has been confirmed in any of the cases.

That distinction matters. A confirmed serial-killer investigation and an investigation into a cluster of similar deaths that may or may not be linked are two different things, and the second is what SAPS has described.

Why this lands differently here

The killing of women is not a new problem in this country, and the numbers behind it are well documented. UN Women has said South Africa has some of the world’s highest rates of violence against women and children. Around one in three South African women experience physical or sexual violence during their lifetime, according to the United Nations.

The killings come as violent crime remains a major source of public concern ahead of municipal elections in November.

For women in Tembisa, Kwa-Thema and the surrounding Ekurhuleni wards, the practical effect is immediate. A jog before work, a walk home after a late shift, or a trip to the shops on a quiet road is now something to be planned around. The police warning says as much. It is a warning aimed at potential victims, and residents have noticed that.

What SAPS has done

The service has opened a wider investigation covering the deaths, has issued the public warning, and has kept a suspect in custody from the July case. The president has directed that the investigation be prioritised, which places the docket at a higher level within the service and brings additional pressure on the provincial and national structures responsible for it.

Ekurhuleni has a metro police service that works alongside SAPS in the area, and the two structures share responsibility for visible policing in the wards where the bodies were found.

What happens next

The investigation continues under the priority direction from the presidency, and the July suspect remains the only person arrested in connection with any of the deaths.

Source: Deutsche Welle, South Africa probes deaths of 7 women near Johannesburg