Ekurhuleni Police Enlist Home Affairs to Identify Nine Dead Women

Police in Ekurhuleni have broadened their search to identify nine women found dead across the region between July 15 and September 17, bringing in Department of Home Affairs officials for biometric assistance as reward offers climb to nine hundred thousand rand.

The discovery of a ninth body in Dawn Park on Thursday morning deepened an investigation that has gripped the region over two months, drawing responses from civil society, municipal authorities, and government ministers. Police reported that five victims were found in Kempton Park, two in Olifantsfontein, one in Kwa-Thema, and one in Dawn Park, with several discovered in open areas or near roadways either partially clothed or naked.

Department of Home Affairs Biometric Assistance in Ekurhuleni

Investigators have enlisted the Department of Home Affairs to access biometric information, including fingerprint records, as they work to identify victims and establish whether any of the deaths are connected. Acting Gauteng Police Commissioner Fred Kekana confirmed that immigration leadership and provincial managers joined the operation, stating that investigators are utilizing every available resource.

Itumeleng Kekana, Elizabeth Moselakgomo, and Dineo Evelyn Motapane

Three of the nine women have been publicly named: 32-year-old Itumeleng Kekana, whose body was found in Pomona on August 3; 38-year-old Elizabeth “Tsontso” Moselakgomo, discovered behind a hotel in Rhodesfield on September 12 after disappearing during a run; and 38-year-old Dineo Evelyn Motapane, found on the side of a road in Kwa-Thema on September 15. The Eastern Cape Department of Social Development also appealed for public help to trace the family of 28-year-old Thabiso Nokulunga Mchunu among the unidentified victims.

Thabiso Nokulunga Mchunu, 28, was one of nine women whose bodies were discovered in Ekurhuleni and is yet to be identified — Photo: News24

Financial incentives for information have reached R900,000, combining a R400,000 offer from the South African Police Service and a R500,000 reward pledged by the Democratic Alliance for a successful criminal prosecution. The killings have triggered widespread protests and vigils, particularly following the death of Moselakgomo, whose eight-year-old daughter raised the initial alarm.

Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia addressed the toll of the violence during a briefing, noting the profound vulnerability facing women across the country.

The thought that someone can go out on a run to participate in a happy event, never to return home, is too unbearable to think about.

Firoz Cachalia, Acting Police Minister

Ahmed Kathrada Foundation Condemnation of Kempton Park Murders

Meanwhile, the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation condemned the horrific murders of women in Kempton Park and Olifantsfontein, with Executive Director Neeshan Balton emphasizing that gender-based violence represents a systemic crisis requiring decisive intervention.

Ekurhuleni Police Enlist Home Affairs to Identify Nine Dead Women — Photo: IOL

The mounting tragedy has unfolded against a backdrop of severe municipal distress in the region. Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) CEO Wayne Duvenage noted that the discovery of the bodies illustrates a broader problem in South Africa, where basic municipal failures like overgrown grass and broken streetlights are ignored until a catastrophe draws public attention.

Duvenage argued that business and civil society must stop operating in separate lanes from government, pointing out that municipal financial exposure has surged concurrently with deteriorating public infrastructure and rising community risks.