Not even hours after police launched a 72-hour intensive police operation to bring to book whoever may be responsible after five women were found dead in and around Kempton Park, they say two more women's bodies have been found in surrounding areas.
A sixth woman's body was found on the side of a road outside a clinic in KwaThema, Springs, this morning, but police have yet to establish whether her death is connected to the five Kempton Park cases. She is believed to be about 35. Her body was in an advanced state of decomposition.
Then only hours later police said a seventh woman's body was reportedly discovered in a river in Clayville, next to mall in Tembisa, on September 7. This brings to seven the number of women’s bodies found across Ekurhuleni.
Police are unsure if all the murders are linked.
As anger continues to grow among women since the Kempton Park killings came to light, it raises the question: what has South Africa’s declaration of gender-based violence as a national disaster actually changed?
The devastation and anger across South African communities is palpable.
The discovery of the fifth woman found in Olifantsfontein on Monday, triggered a major police response. She was later identified at the Germiston mortuary by family as the missing runner Elizabeth “Tsontso” Moselakgomo.
The 38-year-old Moselakgomo was “the glue that held us together”, said Lieutenant Colonel Andries Matlaila, speaking as both her uncle and the family spokesperson at a media briefing. He described Moselakgomo as a familiar, home-oriented professional, a dedicated church choir member, and a passionate runner.
Moselakgomo disappeared after leaving her Kempton Park home for an afternoon run on September 9.
Her eight-year-old daughter, whom Matlaila said she shared a close bond with, raised the alarm when her mother failed to return home, according to police.
Her death has now become part of an investigation into five women whose bodies have been found in and around Kempton Park since July.
Meanwhile her running club, Team Vitality issued an official written statement, expressing their heartbreak, calling her a "valued member" of their community, and asking runners across South Africa to keep her young child and family in their thoughts.
Tumi Sole, founder of Run With Sole, said the community was devastated by Moselakgomo’s death.
"We see you - the woman running before work, training for her first 5km, preparing for a marathon, or simply running because it brings her joy. You should not have to choose between your passion and your safety.
"To the grieving families: your loved ones were more than statistics. They were mothers, daughters, sisters, friends and running partners. They deserved to come home."
Police have confirmed similarities in some of the cases but have warned that it is too early to say that a serial killer is responsible.
National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe told IOL that investigators were not yet at that point.
“We are simply not there yet. We are relying on experts to advise accordingly,” Mathe said, adding that police would rely on psychological and behavioural analysis to establish victim profiles and other possible links.
Police launch 72-hour operation
Acting national police commissioner Lieutenant-General Puleng Dimpane has directed a multidisciplinary team of detectives and specialised policing resources to intensify the investigation.
The operation includes detectives, forensic investigators, K9 teams, tracing teams, metro police and intelligence officers as investigators work to establish whether the cases are connected.
Deputy national police commissioner Lieutenant-General Tebello Mosikili has issued a direct warning to whoever may be responsible.
“We are coming for you,” Mosikili said during a live media briefing last night (Monday Sept 14)
“Your days are numbered. This is not a threat, it’s a fact. We will bring closure for these (victim's) families.”
Police say they are pursuing several leads, while investigators continue to map the scenes and examine possible links between the cases.
Dimpane has vowed that police will establish what happened to the women and pursue anyone against whom there is evidence.
“We will not rest until we have established the truth. Where there is evidence linking individuals to these crimes, we will pursue them relentlessly and ensure that they face the full might of the law,” she said.
Five Kempton Park deaths, two months
The first woman, aged 37, was found near the R21 on July 15. A suspect was arrested two days later and remains in custody.
A second woman, aged 32, was found near the R21 on August 24.
On September 10, the body of an unidentified woman was found in an advanced state of decomposition. Her identity has not yet been formally established.
A fourth body, that of a 38-year-old woman, was found in Rhodesfield behind a hotel on September 12.
That body was subsequently identified as Moselakgomo, the runner whose disappearance had triggered a search operation.
A fifth body was found in Olifantsfontein on Monday morning.
Police have not established that the five deaths are connected.
But the concentration of deaths in the same broad area has triggered fear among residents and anger among women who say they should not have to change how they live simply to remain safe.
A sixth woman's body was found in KwaThema, Springs, on Tuesday morning. Police have not released details about her identity or cause of death, and it is not known whether her death is connected to the Kempton Park investigation.
‘We should not have to live like this’
The anger has been particularly strong among runners.
Women gathered outside the police station to demand action after Moselakgomo’s death, with members of the running community saying women should be able to exercise without fearing that they may not return home.
Sole, founder of Run With Sole, told The National today: "We are shocked as a running community! It’s not fair that we hear about this after Tsontso’s death.
"I am a man and although I may be robbed, women are faced with a higher risk of being killed too. My advice is for us male runners to support female runners and run with them and more importantly, respect them whilst doing this.
"We are tired of another hashtag! We cannot be killed for us running and managing our mental health.
"Government, municipalities must ensure areas are lit, pavements are there for us to run and not wait for another tragedy.
"Government must also deal with the impact of corruption as those streets lights, infrastructure not completed take away from streets lights, pavements and safety measures and ultimately costs ours lives, especially women’s lives."
Athletics South Africa Acting CEO Terrence Magogodela stated that her death highlights the vulnerability of women who should be able to exercise freely without fear for their safety.
The anger goes beyond the individual cases. Women have questioned why residents were not warned sooner if police had already found several bodies in the area.
The Women’s League of the MK Party has also criticised the police response, arguing that authorities should have acted more urgently as the deaths accumulated.
The African National Congress (ANC) in Gauteng released an official statement calling for urgent action following the tragic deaths of women in Kempton Park. The statement demands swift police mobilisation and heightened safety measures against gender-based violence and femicide following the discovery of multiple bodies in the area.
A national crisis declared — but what has changed?
The Kempton Park deaths are unfolding against the backdrop of a national crisis that the government formally declared a disaster last year.
On November 20, 2025, South Africa classified gender-based violence and femicide as a national disaster under the Disaster Management Act. The decision followed sustained pressure from civil-society organisations and nationwide protests demanding a more urgent state response.
Nine months later, The National’s analysis of the latest SAPS crime statistics found that 9,201 rapes were reported between April and June 2026 — roughly 100 every day. There were also 11,532 reported sexual offences during the three-month period.
The figures represented slight year-on-year declines, but Amnesty International South Africa warned that the statistics did not capture the full scale of violence against women.
Amnesty executive director Shenilla Mohamed said the suspension of some disaggregated SAPS data relating to women and children made it harder to understand the true scale of the problem.
“The full scale of violence against women remains unclear,” Mohamed said.
However, if GBV and femicide have been officially classified as a national disaster, why do women continue to feel that they are responsible for managing their own risk?
At the time of the release of the SAPS crime stats Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia said:"The month of August is celebrated as ‘Women’s Month’. The protection of women and children and other vulnerable persons remains a national policing priority requiring sustained investment and prevention, victim support, investigation and prosecution."
The warning came against the backdrop of years of concern over the scale of violence against women and children in South Africa. President Cyril Ramaphosa has previously described GBV as a “second pandemic”.
The warning women are angry about
Police have urged women in and around Kempton Park, particularly in Rhodesfield, to exercise caution while the investigation continues.
Women have been advised to avoid isolated areas and, where possible, exercise or travel in groups.
That advice has generated anger because, activists and those on social media say, it shifts the immediate burden of avoiding violence onto potential victims.
Women, they say, already know they are at risk. What they want to know is what the state is doing to identify perpetrators, secure public spaces and prevent the next attack.
Women for Change, which campaigned for GBV and femicide to be declared a national disaster, has expressed anger over the Kempton Park deaths and questioned the response to the growing number of cases.
The organisation has argued that the level of police mobilisation seen after the fifth body was found should not require a case to become nationally prominent before authorities respond with urgency.
The missing-persons picture
Deputy national police commissioner Mosikili said police records showed that 17 missing-person cases had been reported in Kempton Park since January. Fourteen people had been reunited with their families, while three remained unaccounted for.
Police have appealed to families with missing-person cases to come forward and assist investigators with identifying the remaining body.
That figure does not mean the missing people are connected to the five deaths, but it does add another layer to the fear spreading through the community.
What police know — and what they don't
Police have arrested one suspect in connection with the first woman's death in July. There is currently no evidence that this suspect is connected to the other deaths.
Investigators are now examining forensic evidence, victim profiles, locations and possible behavioural patterns.
Mathe said the police were relying on experts, including investigators working on psychology and behavioural patterns, before drawing conclusions about whether the cases are connected.
The next move
For Moselakgomo’s family, the search has ended in tragedy leaving a daughter, mother, uncle and family devastated.
Meanwhile, as the 72-hour police operation is under way, women who run, walk and travel through Kempton Park, and the further parts of Ekurhuleni continue to live in fear.
* This is a developing story