Ekurhuleni women’s deaths: police widen investigation to seven cases

DEVELOPING STORY · UPDATE: 15 September 2026

Police have widened the investigation into women’s deaths in Ekurhuleni to seven cases, including a woman whose body was discovered in Clayville on 7 September. The change follows Tuesday morning’s discovery in KwaThema and broadens the investigation beyond the earlier Kempton Park and Olifantsfontein reports. EWN: police briefing, 15 September, 13:15

Why the total has risen to seven

Acting Gauteng police commissioner Major General Fred Kekana said the Clayville case would be included so that investigators did not leave cases out. The body had been found in a stream near Tembisa Mall. This was the inclusion of an earlier discovery in the broader investigation, not an announcement that two additional bodies were found on Tuesday. EWN

The distinction explains why readers have encountered totals of five, six and seven as reporting has developed. The geographical scope and the cases included have changed. An identification of a previously discovered woman must also be distinguished from a new discovery: identifying someone does not add another person to the count.

Police were still examining possible links, according to the briefing reported by EWN. Similarities had been identified in some cases, but responsibility by one person or group had not been established in that account. Including a case in a coordinated investigation is a decision to examine evidence together; it is not itself a finding of a common perpetrator. EWN

Families wait for identification and answers

At the KwaThema scene, EWN reported that families of missing women had gathered hoping for information, with some fearing that the deceased could be their relative. Police said identification was difficult because of the condition of the body. Forensic personnel processed the scene while additional investigative resources were being brought into the wider inquiry. EWN: families at the scene

Elizabeth “Tsontso” Moselakgomo’s family had identified her body at Germiston mortuary on Monday, 14 September, according to The Citizen. The 38-year-old disappeared after going for a run in Rhodesfield on 9 September. The report also said a suspect in the July case remained in custody. That arrest should not be presented as an arrest for every death now under examination. The Citizen: identification report

For other families, a scene report cannot replace formal identification and notification. Speculative names and circulated photographs can expose relatives to distress while providing no reliable answer about who has died. The public record needs to distinguish confirmed identities from people who remain missing and from victims whose identities have not been established.

Specialist policing and freedom of movement

Parliament’s police committee chairperson Ian Cameron said the response included specialist detectives, forensic expertise, tracking capability, dog units and investigative psychology. He cautioned against asserting links that police had not established. Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga also raised the effect of the violence on women’s freedom to use public spaces. EWN: parliamentary response

The additional resources address different needs: finding and interpreting evidence, identifying victims and testing possible connections. Their deployment is a substantive step, but the existence of a task team does not answer every question residents have about patrols, the reach of warnings or progress in individual cases. Those issues remain relevant to the community concerns recorded in our original report below.

The alleged abduction remains a separate lead

The Citizen reported on 14 September that a woman had escaped an alleged abduction. Councillor Simon Lapping told the newspaper she was giving a statement to police. The report said important circumstances, including the precise scene and people involved, remained unclear, and SAPS had not answered its questions by publication. The Citizen: alleged abduction

That account may provide investigators with information to assess, but it does not establish a connection to any death. This update does not publish an unverified suspect description or assume that the alleged abduction and the murders share an offender. The next decisive developments will be police-confirmed identities, arrests, forensic findings or established links between particular cases.

This update supersedes the six-case count in our earlier update today. The original report about the 14 September community protest is retained below to preserve the history of the story.

Original report — 15 September 2026

Residents picketed in Kempton Park on 14 September as the discovery of another woman’s body in the wider area intensified fears about safety and police communication.

The Citizen reported on the protest and a further discovery in Olifantsfontein. Police were examining possible similarities between cases, with a multidisciplinary team assigned to the investigation. The reporting reviewed for this article did not establish that one offender was responsible.

The timing of warnings became a central point of disagreement. Community concerns included whether information had reached residents early enough for them to adjust their routines. Police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said police had warned the public after the first discovery in July.

Those positions raise a practical communication issue. Issuing an alert and reaching the people exposed to a risk are connected tasks, but they are not identical. Residents using roads and public spaces need information that identifies the affected area and explains what has changed without turning unverified similarities into a settled account.

For women who walk or run in the area, the immediate pressure is personal. Ordinary routines now sit alongside questions about where it is safe to go and whether the latest report changes the picture.

The protest took those concerns to the police station. The investigation still has to establish the identities and circumstances involved and whether any cases are linked. The public needs regular, clearly dated updates as that work produces reliable information.

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