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The South African Police Service has formed a dedicated task team to examine the deaths of 12 women whose bodies were recovered across Ekurhuleni since July 15 2026 with the latest three found between Saturday and Monday morning in areas that include Tembisa. Police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe reported arrests in three of the cases which authorities indicated do not appear connected to the remaining incidents even as officials have declined to exclude the possibility of a serial killer at work. Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia has offered a reward of 400000 rand for information that leads to further breakthroughs while President Cyril Ramaphosa directed the force to treat the investigations as a priority given the fear generated in local communities.
A government statement issued by the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide on September 20 extended condolences to the families and called for full community cooperation with investigators examining the deaths. The committee noted that the victims included Busisiwe Mahlangu whose body was located in Kempton Park on July 15 and Itumeleng Kekana found in the same area on August 3 along with several others identified in subsequent weeks. Police have named additional victims such as Nomfesane Mjobo Gracious Nkomo Elizabeth Moselakgomo Dineo Motapane and Jabulile Ntimba while withholding some identities until next of kin are notified.
South African Human Rights Commission data released last week showed that 569 women were killed nationwide between April and June 2026 which averages six per day.[[1]](https://iol.co.za/news/south-africa/2026-09-17-569-women-killed-in-three-months-as-ekurhulenis-eight-woman-mystery-deepens/) Police figures for the same quarter recorded 5427 murders overall although they do not differentiate by gender. A South African Medical Research Council analysis covering 2020 and 2021 found that 57.5 percent of murdered women were killed by intimate partners with Gauteng province recording rises in both intimate-partner and stranger-perpetrated femicides during that period.[[2]](https://mg.co.za/news/south-africa/2026-09-17-ekurhuleni-murders-expose-gbvf-gaps/)
The first case involved 37-year-old Busisiwe Mahlangu who was discovered naked with her hands bound by cable ties near the R21 in Kempton Park according to the South African Police Service. Officers arrested a suspect believed to be her partner within two days of that discovery. In the case of Jabulile Ntimba whose body was found in Dawn Park on September 17 a man and two women were charged with premeditated murder and defeating the ends of justice after arrests made the following weekend.
Elizabeth Moselakgomo a 38-year-old mother was last seen going for a jog before her body was recovered behind a hotel in Kempton Park on September 12 family members told local outlets. Dineo Motapane’s body which showed signs of battering and burning was located in Kwa-Thema three days later. Later recoveries included a woman at a cemetery in Tembisa and another identified as Ntombifuthi Nxumalo bringing the total to 12 by September 28.
The killings have drawn attention to broader patterns with the Human Sciences Research Council reporting that more than one in three women aged 18 and older have experienced physical or sexual violence in their lifetimes. Police data from earlier years show murder cases reported at Ekurhuleni stations fluctuated with some precincts recording increases in related offences such as kidnappings during 2025 and 2026. Authorities have stressed that while similarities exist among several of the bodies found partially clothed or showing trauma not all cases have been formally linked at this stage.
