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A man and two women were arrested over the weekend by members of the Gauteng murder and robbery unit in connection with the killing of a woman whose body was discovered on September 17 wrapped in a sheet in Dawn Park Boksburg. According to TimesLIVE the three suspects are expected to appear before the Boksburg magistrate’s court on Monday. Acting national commissioner Lt-Gen Puleng Dimpane said police are seized with all nine murder cases with each case receiving priority attention and investigators following all available leads.
The discovery on September 17 brought the total to nine women’s bodies found in Ekurhuleni east of Johannesburg since mid-July according to a Bloomberg report. Eight of the nine victims have now been identified with the women ranging in age from 20 to 38 and many of the bodies showing signs of bruising or sexual assault a Washington Post article indicated. Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia told reporters that investigators have yet to establish whether the cases are linked and have not confirmed they are dealing with a serial killer noting indications of different methods in some of the deaths.
Police previously arrested one person in July in connection with the first woman found in Kempton Park according to Al Jazeera. President Cyril Ramaphosa ordered authorities to prioritize the investigation into the deaths as public concern mounted over violence against women in the area a Sahara Reporters dispatch reported. The cases span locations including Kempton Park Olifantsfontein Clayville KwaThema and Dawn Park with some victims found partially clothed or restrained.
The South African Human Rights Commission reported that 569 women were killed and 1 052 survived attempted murder between April and June 2026. The commission also recorded 8 814 rape cases reported during the first quarter of the year. These statistics come as the Department of Social Development documented a 21 percent increase in calls to the Gender-Based Violence Command Centre between September 1 and 16 compared with the same period in August when the centre averaged 350 calls daily.
Calls to the command centre averaged 424 per day in early September and peaked at 589 on September 16 the department said in a statement. The surge coincided with widespread attention on the Ekurhuleni cases and officials have urged communities to report all forms of abuse. The Human Sciences Research Council’s national study found that 7.3 million South African women aged 18 and older have experienced physical violence during their lifetime according to a ministerial briefing.
Senior officers including Lieutenant-General Dumisani Khumalo and Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi have been deployed to support the investigations Cachalia said. The Democratic Alliance offered rewards totaling 900 000 rand for information leading to arrests in the cases an IOL report stated. Police have appealed for families with missing female relatives to come forward to assist with identification of any remaining victims.
