UPDATED: 07.05 Sept 21
When Elizabeth “Tsontso” Moselakgomo failed to return from an afternoon run through Kempton Park, her family launched a relentless public search.
What began as a desperate bid to find a beloved mother has catalysed into an intensive South African Police Service (SAPS) operation and helped the families of other missing women to get answers on what happened to their loved ones.
Meanwhile three persons of interest were called in for questioning at the weekend in one of the nine cases, while acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia said on Sunday that Lt-Gen Dumisani Khumalo and Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi had been brought in to assist with the investigation.
The three - two women and a man - have been arrested and are expected to appear in the Boksburg Magistrate's Court today in connection with the murder of a woman whose body was found in Dawn Park in Ekurhuleni on Friday. She was the ninth victim in the string of murder cases being investigated by police.
Cachalia said the investigation had not established that the nine cases were connected, with indications of different modus operandi and different motives. He said investigators had not ruled anything out, but had not conclusively established that a serial killer was responsible.
Moselakgomo was found murdered, but the search for her yielded a grim discovery: the bodies of the other women in Ekurhuleni. The cases are now under investigation by a specialised SAPS team.
Nine women have to date been found dead in and around Ekurhuleni since July. Only four have been publicly identified: Itumeleng Kekana, 32, Elizabeth “Tsontso” Moselakgomo, 38, Dineo Evelyn Motapane, 38, and Gracious Nkomo, 28. Police say four of the other five women have also been identified, but their names have not yet been released.
The government said one of the nine women has still not been linked to a missing-person case. It has urged families in and around Kempton Park, Kwa-Thema and Tembisa to check on female relatives and report anyone who is missing without delay.
According to information released by the police, all nine women were in their 20s and 30s. Their bodies exhibited a similar pattern of visible bruising or severe trauma, including multiple stab wounds, and were predominantly left in open public or secluded areas, and roads, such as the R21 highway in Kempton Park, Olifantsfontein, KwaThema and Dawn Park, in Ekurhuleni Municipality since July.
Police suspect that the actual killings occurred elsewhere.
Moselakgomo’s uncle, Andries Moraka Matlaila, said, “Tsontso is among the heroines because she went out alone for an afternoon run, wherever she was, but her disappearance revealed other victims that we never knew about.”
What the criminologist says
South Africa may be witnessing the "most extreme" manifestation of the same social forces that drive intimate partner violence, coercive control and femicide across the country every day, said Professor Nirmala Gopal, a senior criminology lecturer at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
She added that these murders force South Africans to confront the reality that femicide is not merely a policing problem but a societal one.
"The task before investigators is to identify the perpetrator.
"The task before the nation is far greater, namely, to identify and address the social conditions that continue to place women at risk.
"Until 'we' do both, 'we' will remain trapped in a cycle of mourning, outrage and remembrance, while the underlying conditions that enable violence against women persist largely unchanged,” Gopal said.
Gopal said the task was not merely to identify those who committed these crimes, but to understand the behavioural forces that compelled them.
“When multiple crimes are concentrated in a specific area, it may indicate several things: that it is a location favoured for disposing of evidence, that victims are more readily available, or that it lies within an offender’s usual routes.
"These patterns can significantly aid SAPS in their prevention strategies for future crimes and in catching the perpetrator,” Gopal said.
Gopal highlighted that one of the most enduring lessons from criminological research was that serial offenders rarely selected victims at random.
She said that offenders often targeted individuals whose circumstances make them more accessible, visible, or vulnerable.
“This does not imply that victims are responsible for their victimisation. Rather, it recognises that offenders frequently exploit existing vulnerabilities within social environments.
"The most productive question may not be ‘Why these women?’ but ‘What made these women visible to the offender?’
"As a criminologist, I would argue that the answer may lie at the intersection of individual predation and broader structural inequality,” she said.
She added there was a danger in drawing premature conclusions as in many investigations, particularly those unfolding in real time, information remained fragmented and incomplete as publicly available details were often limited to victims’ discovery locations, basic victim characteristics, and a handful of crime-scene observations.
“As someone who studies crime and violence professionally, I am deeply concerned that discussions about these murders often become consumed by speculation about serial killers while ignoring the structural conditions that create vulnerability in the first place,” Gopal said.
“If women continue to live in communities characterised by poverty, unemployment, unsafe transport systems, substance abuse and inadequate protection, the pool of vulnerable targets remains alarmingly large, irrespective of whether the perpetrator is a serial offender, an intimate partner or another violent actor.”
Policing expert
Asked whether police had a duty to inform people about the first bodies that were found prior to Moselakgomo, Dr Johan Burger, an independent policing expert, said police have a specific methodology in terms of how they investigate these murders.
He said they would not want to cause unnecessary panic.
“The police have a specific methodology in terms of how they investigate these murders.
"They have to be convinced that the modus operandi that is applied in each of those cases are similar, which would then point to the possibility of a serial killer,” Burger said.
He added that panic can lead to other consequences, repercussions and so on.
“So it’s a question about, when is it too soon, or when is it too late?” Burger said.
The women behind the headlines
Moselakgomo’s uncle, Matlaila, described his niece as a runner, a choir member and a loving mother to her 8-year-old daughter.
“I want to thank the public for their support. The moment we put out a notice that our niece is missing, the people of this country posted it all over social platforms, and the media joined in helping us to locate our niece,” he said.
“That alone sent a very strong message to the leadership of the police. However, the leadership also came on board, including the security cluster, and that is when the mass search started.”
Moselakgomo's uncle said the search and rescue teams deployed led to other bodies being discovered, even those that were not reported missing.
“We, as the family, are shattered. As things are now starting to unfold with even more bodies being discovered, this whole matter is starting to terrify us because at the end of the day it is on our doorstep,” Matlaila said.
Moselakgomo was laid to rest on Sunday. At her funeral in Pankop township, Mpumalanga, her brother, Odirile Morolo, spoke about the woman they knew beyond the circumstances of her death, a sister, mother, daughter, colleague, and passionate runner whose presence remains deeply felt by those she left behind.
Among the memories he shared was a phrase Elizabeth had repeated throughout her life: “Go tla loka” — It will be alright."
Morolo said they had heard the words so often that their significance was sometimes overlooked.
"She said it so often we barely noticed at the time of how profound it was. We understand it now. It was not simply comforting us, she was making a promise, and that promise still stands."
Moselakgomo's eight-year-old daughter also delivered an emotional tribute to her mother, describing the silence she left behind and the memories she would carry with her. “I wish I could hug you. I wish you can be here. But I carry you inside my heart, so you can always be nearby,” she said.
Moselakgomo was also the centre manager of Alberton City Shopping Centre, according to the mall’s Facebook page. Her funeral will be held today in Phake Village, under Dr JS Moroka Local Municipality, Mpumalanga.
The family of 38-year-old Dineo Evelyn Motapane, one of the other women found murdered, said the family does not have the means to bury her.
Ayanda Nano, Motapane's elder cousin, described her as an avid entrepreneur and was involved in selling polony hampers alongside her cousins to help the family.
She said her cousin also took piece jobs as a cleaner, and they would combine funds made to support themselves and their children. Motapane leaves behind a 2-year-old daughter.
Motapane was last seen alive on September 13 and her body was discovered days later on the side of the road in KwaThema, Springs; her family had not yet reported her missing.
Another victim, 32-year-old Itumeleng Kekana, was discovered on August 3, after she was reported missing on July 17. Her body was found partially clothed, with bruises and injuries to her face near a bridge along the R21.
She was from Mmakwane Village in Qwaqwa, where she was buried on August 22. She has a 14-year-old daughter.
The body of 28-year-old Gracious Nkomo was found on September 10 along the R21 in Kempton Park. Her family identified her at the Germiston Mortuary on September 17.
Sandy Godlwana, spokesperson for the Department of Social Development, said social workers were working with affected families and would remain available to provide ongoing psychosocial support during and after the funerals, based on the families’ needs.
Godlwana added that for children who have lost their parents or caregivers, the social work team will also assess their circumstances and, where appropriate, assist families with the adoption and foster care processes.
On funeral assistance, she said, “In terms of the Department’s policy, there is no provision for financial assistance towards funeral expenses. Municipalities may, in certain circumstances, provide such assistance. Social workers will therefore be requested to link affected families with the relevant municipal officials to explore available assistance and support.”
gcwalisile.khanyile@nationalmg.co.za