Eight women found in Ekurhuleni: police form task team as memories of past serial killers resurface

Police in Gauteng have assembled a high‑level task team after the bodies of eight women were discovered across Ekurhuleni between July and September 2026. Authorities say it is too early to determine whether the deaths are the work of a single perpetrator.

What authorities have said

Acting police minister Firoz Cachalia told a Parktown media briefing that the number of women found dead in Ekurhuleni since July had risen to eight, with the latest body found in Olifantsfontein. He described the murders as unacceptable and said a dedicated team of detectives and specialists had been formed to investigate the cases.

Police would “leave no stone unturned to bring the culprits to book”.

Cachalia also said the deaths reminded the country that women were not safe and characterised the prospect of a woman going out for a run and never returning as “too unbearable to think about”.

National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said investigators were still establishing whether they were dealing with one perpetrator or a group, and had not ruled out copycat killings.

Acting Gauteng police commissioner Major General Fred Kekana said the body of a woman in her late twenties, found in a river near Tembisa Mall on 7 September, had been added to the investigation after police checked records at surrounding stations. Kekana said a pathologist’s preliminary assessment showed that the woman found beside a road in KwaThema, Springs, on 15 September appeared to have been strangled, and that a post‑mortem was expected on Wednesday.

Kekana said only two of the first seven women had been identified, and that a suspect arrested in July in connection with the death of the first woman remained in custody.

Deputy national police commissioner Lieutenant General Tebello Mosikili said four of the five women found around Kempton Park had shown signs of sexual assault. President Cyril Ramaphosa instructed that the cases be prioritised.

Where and when the bodies were found

SAPS provided a mapped list of locations and dates. The incidents cited in police material include:

• 15 July – a 37‑year‑old woman found naked and bound near the R21 at Rhodesfield; a suspect was arrested.
• 24 August – a 32‑year‑old woman found partially clothed and bruised near the R21 in Kempton Park.
• 7 September – a woman in her late twenties found in a river near Tembisa Mall (added to the investigation after record checks).
• 10 September – an unidentified woman found decomposed and partially clothed near Rhodesfield.
• 12 September – runner Elizabeth Moselakgomo, 38, found behind a hotel in Rhodesfield.
• 14 September – a woman found partially clothed beside the R21 near Olifantsfontein.
• 15 September – a woman in her thirties found naked beside a road in KwaThema, Springs.
• 15 September – Cachalia said an eighth body was found in Olifantsfontein.

Investigative approach and expert views

Professor Gerard Labuschagne, former head of the SAPS Investigative Psychology Section, said the close geographic proximity, time frame and similar victimology bore the hallmarks of serial murder and that the cases should be treated as a serial investigation until evidence showed otherwise. He said this would activate SAPS policy on serial murder investigations and justify bringing detectives with relevant training and experience into the investigation.

Labuschagne noted that the police no longer had a single criminal profiler after the last one retired in March, and said detectives with training and experience in serial murder cases should be brought into the probe.

The national policy on serial rape and serial murder, approved in June 2016, states the Investigative Psychology Section must become involved automatically when a murder series comes to its attention and that the task team must inform the public through police communication officials when a serial murderer is active in an area. The policy also describes typical offender behaviour as luring victims to secluded places with false stories, often job offers.

Historical context

The IOL report recalled several past South African offenders whose cases involved luring victims with promises of work and attacking women in isolated locations. Examples cited include:

• Moses Sithole – convicted for a series of murders and rapes in the mid‑1990s; in December 1997 he was sentenced to 2,410 years in prison for 38 murders, 40 rapes and six robberies, with an order that he serve at least 930 years before being considered for parole.
• Thozamile Taki – found guilty in December 2010 of 13 murders and 13 robberies and sentenced in January 2011 to 13 life terms and 208 years in prison; victims were lured to sugarcane fields with job offers.
• Sipho Thwala – known as the Phoenix Strangler; convicted in March 1999 of 16 murders and 10 rapes and sentenced to 506 years in prison.
• Norman Afzal Simons – arrested in April 1994 in connection with murders of boys on the Cape Flats; convicted in 1995 of one murder and later released on parole in July 2023 after 28 years in prison.
• Stewart Wilken – convicted in February 1998 of seven murders and two counts of sodomy and sentenced to seven life terms.

Next steps in the current probe

Police say the investigation will be led by a high‑level task team made up of detectives and specialists from different units. Officials have carried out post‑mortems and record checks and continue to work to identify victims and link scenes. Authorities have not concluded whether one offender, multiple offenders or copycats are responsible.

The situation remains under active investigation by SAPS and provincial police command. Authorities have urged that the inquiries be allowed to continue as they gather forensic and investigative evidence.