Seven Women’s Bodies Found Around Ekurhuleni, East of Johannesburg, and Police Still Don’t Know Who Killed Them
by Jerome London · Thought CatalogUpdated 1 minute ago, September 15, 2026
The bodies of seven women have been found around Ekurhuleni, east of Johannesburg, over a two-month span, and police still don’t know who killed them.
The bodies turned up between July 15 and September 15, scattered across Kempton Park, Rhodesfield, Olifantsfontein, Clayville and KwaThema, on the East Rand.
Police raised the investigation to seven on September 15. A sixth woman was found that morning by a road in KwaThema, and a seventh, pulled from a Clayville river on September 7, was added after officers went back through station records.
Investigators won’t rule a serial killer in or out. “We are simply not there yet,” said national police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe, who said they’re still working out “whether we are dealing with one perpetrator or a group of men.”
Only one arrest has been made, and it’s for the first case. In July, a 37-year-old woman was found near the R21 highway, naked and her hands bound with cable ties. A man reported to be her partner was arrested two days later and positively linked to that killing, but police haven’t tied him to any of the later bodies.
The case that pushed the cluster into national news was Elizabeth “Tsontso” Moselakgomo, a 38-year-old retail manager and mother of an 8-year-old daughter. She left for her usual after-work run in Rhodesfield and didn’t return. Her body was found on September 12 behind a hotel next to the R21. A national warning to women followed only after her disappearance, which the EFF said showed police acted only once the public pushed.
Deputy National Commissioner Tebello Mosikili said four of the first five victims had been sexually assaulted. Only two of the seven have been identified. United Nations figures put South Africa’s femicide rate at about five times the global average.
President Cyril Ramaphosa directed police to prioritise the cases, saying “no stone will be left unturned.” A task team drawing on murder, forensics and psychological profiling units has been assigned to the killings.
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