Three separate murder cases involving women in Ekurhuleni now have suspects or accused, as police investigate the discovery of an 11th woman’s body in the area.
The latest woman’s body was found near a railway line in Struisbult, Springs, on Sunday after a security company vehicle spotted it and alerted police.
Gauteng police commissioner Lieutenant General Tommy Mthombeni said preliminary investigations indicated that the woman, believed to be in her early 20s, had recently been murdered.
Police have not established whether the latest killing is connected to the other cases.
The discovery came a day after the body of Ntombifuthu Nxumalo was found at Mooifontein Cemetery in Tembisa.
Police arrested a suspect in connection with Nxumalo’s murder after tracing him to Limpopo. Forensic testing is under way to establish whether evidence recovered at the scene can be linked to the suspect.
The arrest means police now have suspects or accused in three of the Ekurhuleni murder cases.
In the murder of Jabulile Ntimba, whose body was found in Dawn Park, Boksburg, on September 17, two people have been charged.
Fortunate Masilela and Tsakane Nester Msithini face charges of premeditated murder and defeating or obstructing the course of justice. They appeared in the Boksburg Magistrates’ Court on September 21 and remain in custody. Their case is due back in court on October 1.
A third person, a man arrested with the two women, was released without being charged after police said there was insufficient evidence to place him before court.
In the case of Busisiwe Mahlangu, whose body was found in Kempton Park on July 15, one suspect was arrested two days later. The suspect, believed to have been Mahlangu’s partner, remains in custody and is due back in the Kempton Park Magistrates’ Court on October 28.
The arrests and charges do not mean police have established that the cases are connected.
Investigators are continuing to examine possible links between the deaths while treating each case according to the evidence available.
The latest discovery brings to 11 the number of women whose bodies have been found in Ekurhuleni since July 15.
The pace of the killings has intensified sharply. Three women were found dead between July 15 and August 26, while eight women were found dead between September 7 and September 27.
A separate case in Soweto has also been added to the broader Gauteng investigation. An unidentified woman, believed to be in her 20s, was found dead in a dam in Moroka on September 20. Police opened an inquest and have not established a link between the Soweto death and the Ekurhuleni cases.
The deaths have intensified a national outcry over gender-based violence and femicide, with Parliament calling for greater scrutiny of the government’s response and the funding available to tackle GBVF.
President Cyril Ramaphosa, speaking at Heritage Day celebrations in Oudtshoorn on September 24, said the abuse, rape and killing of women was not part of South Africa’s heritage.
“The abuse, rape and killing of women is not our heritage. There is no culture worthy of the name that diminishes the dignity of women,” he said.
Ramaphosa said the pain and suffering experienced by women in South Africa stood out as a “national shame”.
He also said he would address the nation in the coming days on gender-based violence and the government’s response to the killings of women in and around Ekurhuleni.
The Standing Committee on Appropriations said it would examine government funding for the response to GBV and engage the ministers of Social Development and Police on the plans and resources available to address the crisis.
The 11 women found in Ekurhuleni are:
Busisiwe Mahlangu – Kempton Park, July 15
Itumeleng Kekana – Kempton Park, August 3
Nomfesane Mjobo – August 26
Unidentified woman – Clayville River, Olifantsfontein, September 7
Gracious Nkomo – September 10
Elizabeth “Tsontso” Moselakgomo – September 12
Vutomi Mathebula – Olifantsfontein, September 14
Dineo Evelyn Motapane – Kwa-Thema, September 15
Jabulile Ntimba – Dawn Park, September 17
Ntombifuthu Nxumalo – Tembisa, September 26
Unidentified woman – Springs, September 27
Police have established a multidisciplinary investigation involving detectives, Crime Intelligence, crime-scene management and Investigative Psychology Services.
A R400,000 reward has also been offered for information that could assist in solving the Ekurhuleni killings.
For now, investigators have not established a link between the cases. The investigation into the latest death is continuing.
THE NATIONAL
