What SAPS has confirmed
The Ekurhuleni murders investigation now covers eight women whose bodies have been recovered across the metro east of Johannesburg over roughly two months, the South African Police Service confirmed on Tuesday evening, 15 September 2026.
The figure that shapes everything else is a smaller one. Acting Gauteng Provincial Commissioner Major General Fred Kekana said on Tuesday that only two of the bodies then in the investigation had been identified.
Police have not established that the deaths are linked. Acting National Commissioner Lieutenant-General Puleng Dimpane said one person has been arrested in connection with one of the killings in July and that police are pursuing another person of interest. SAPS has said it remains premature to speculate about a pattern.
A R400 000 reward has been offered for information leading to a breakthrough, and a high-level multidisciplinary team led by the deputy provincial commissioner has been established.
Acting Minister of Police Firoz Cachalia, briefing media in Parktown on Tuesday evening, said the murders were unacceptable. “I want to give the people of Ekurhuleni and the families the assurance that we will leave no stone unturned to bring the culprits to book,” he said.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a statement on Tuesday: “I have directed that these cases be prioritized” and that law enforcement is working in partnership with citizens.
What the Ekurhuleni murders investigation has established
| Date | Location | What police have said |
|---|---|---|
| 15 July 2026 | Open veld near the R21, Kempton Park | A 37-year-old woman, found bound with cable ties. A suspect was arrested two days later |
| 24 August 2026 | Kempton Park area | Details not published |
| 7 September 2026 | River at Clayville, near Tembisa Mall | A woman in her late twenties. Added to the investigation on 15 September |
| 10 September 2026 | Kempton Park area | Details not published |
| 12 September 2026 | Rhodesfield, behind a hotel | A 38-year-old woman in sports clothing, since identified as Elizabeth Moselakgomo |
| 14 September 2026 | Olifantsfontein | Details not published |
| 15 September 2026 | KwaThema, Springs | A woman in her thirties, found naked and decomposed |
| 15 September 2026 | Ekurhuleni, location not specified | Eighth recovery confirmed by SAPS |
Deputy National Commissioner Lieutenant-General Tebello Mosikili said forensic testing has confirmed sexual assault in four of the cases. SAPS has described the bodies as found partly clothed with visible bruising.
Investigators have not established a connection between the women themselves and are still examining possible motives. National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe asked that detectives be given time to work through what she called complex cases, saying mistakes must not be made by rushing.
Police have also widened the question they are asking. SAPS has said it is investigating whether it is dealing with one perpetrator or a group of men.
Why the count rose so fast
The total moved from four to eight in four days. Some of that increase is not new killings.
Kekana explained that police went back to their stations after noticing bodies were being picked up. That review brought in a case from 7 September, a woman in her late twenties found in a river in Clayville. “The body of a female in her late twenties was observed in the river” next to Tembisa Mall, Kekana said, describing how the case was added.
In other words, part of the rise reflects dockets already open being pulled into a single investigation, rather than a killing rate accelerating in real time. Three of the eight were found on 14 and 15 September, but the earliest dates back to 15 July.
The geography has also widened in a way that complicates the original reasoning. SAPS first flagged similarities partly because the discovery sites were within the same vicinity. KwaThema, where the most recent body was found on a roadside near a clinic, lies between 34km and 45km from Kempton Park, depending on which account is used. Published distances for that site differ.
City of Ekurhuleni councillor Sizwe Nhleko said the community was alerted to the KwaThema body through a neighbourhood WhatsApp group, and that it appeared to have been dumped there.
The seventeen missing women
The number that frames the possible scope of this has had almost no attention.
Mosikili said 17 women were reported missing in Kempton Park between January and now, and that 13 of them have been located. That leaves four women reported missing in the same area, over the same period, who have not been accounted for.
Police have not said whether any of those four cases relate to the bodies recovered, and the two figures should not be added together or assumed to overlap. But it means the investigation’s outer boundary is not fixed by the number of bodies found so far.
The identification gap is the practical obstacle. Links between cases are usually established through what the victims have in common, and most of these women have not yet been named. Post-mortem and forensic work is continuing.
Mosikili addressed whoever is responsible directly in a briefing on Monday evening, warning that police were on their trail and that their “freedom is temporary”.
What police are asking for
SAPS has repeated its safety guidance for women in and around Kempton Park and Rhodesfield: not to walk or run alone, particularly in isolated areas, to avoid secluded spaces, and where possible to travel or exercise in groups. The City of Ekurhuleni has increased visibility in those suburbs during the morning and late-afternoon peaks.
Anyone with information, and anyone whose relative or friend is missing, has been asked to contact Warrant Officer Elvis Manyike on 082 465 7249 or to report anonymously through the MySAPS App.
Cachalia made one further appeal that matters in a case moving this fast. He urged the public not to circulate unverified information or make accusations without evidence.
Several things remain unresolved. Most of the women have not been identified. No link between the cases has been established. The person arrested in July is connected to one case only, and the second person of interest has not been described. No motive has been given, and no timeframe has been set for the task team to report.
The next confirmed step is identification. Until the women can be named, the question of whether these deaths belong to one investigation or several cannot be answered.
