South African police are investigating potential connections among the bodies of nine young women discovered in the Ekurhuleni municipality near Johannesburg over the past two months. The killings have sparked nationwide memorial runs, fierce debate over public safety, and a pledge from President Cyril Ramaphosa that investigators will leave no stone unturned.
Discoveries Across Ekurhuleni Ignite National Outcry
The grim pattern emerged over the course of two months in South Africa’s Ekurhuleni municipality, east of Johannesburg. Authorities confirmed that the bodies of nine women, mostly in their 20s and 30s, have been recovered from various locations across the region. The first five victims were found in or near Kempton Park, while subsequent discoveries occurred in areas between 25 and 35 kilometers away, including Dawn Park, Clayville, Olifantsfontein, Rhodesfield, and KwaThema, according to Associated Press reporting.
The latest discovery occurred on Thursday, September 17, when a passerby alerted police to a body near a construction site in Dawn Park. Gauteng provincial commissioner Fred Kekana noted that the unidentified woman appeared to be about 30 and bore an apparent stab wound with her throat cut, as detailed by AOL reporting. Investigators are examining whether the crimes share a common perpetrator, though officials emphasize that a serial killer has not been formally confirmed.
Among the identified victims is 38-year-old manager and keen runner Elizabeth Moselakgomo, whose young daughter alerted authorities after she failed to return from an afternoon jog near the Johannesburg airport, as described in NPR coverage. Other identified victims include Dineo Motapane, a 38-year-old mother of two whose battered and burned body was found in a residential area of Ekurhuleni; Gracious Nkomo, 28, found dumped on the R21 highway; and 32-year-old shopkeeper Itumeleng Kekana, according to Al Jazeera.
Mourning Runners and Student Vigils Demand End to Femicide
Across the country, the killings have driven citizens into the streets to grieve and demand systemic change. Memorial runs and candlelit vigils have multiplied from Johannesburg to Cape Town. At a Saturday morning memorial run honoring Elizabeth Moselakgomo, participants dressed in black and carried a banner reading Enough. Stop Femicide
, as documented by Reuters.
Participants at the memorial events expressed profound exhaustion with the constant threat of violence.
“We are here because we’ve lost a runner. But we are not safe anywhere,”
Lerato Lentsela
“We are not safe running, we are not safe at a post office, we are not safe on a date, we are not safe in our own homes, we are not safe in an Uber.”
Lerato Lentsela
Students at the University of Cape Town similarly gathered for vigils.
Pushback Against Police Safety Advice and Systemic Failures
That guidance has met immediate and sharp resistance from advocacy groups.
President Cyril Ramaphosa pledged that no stone will be left unturned
in the pursuit of justice, acknowledging that the nation cannot grow accustomed to such violence. Yet critics point out that South Africa’s wider law enforcement apparatus remains strained by resource shortages and corruption, with official estimates indicating that only about one in 10 murders is solved.
Activists emphasize that the latest spate of murders is part of a broader crisis in a country where gender-based violence was declared a national disaster in 2025. With rates of violence remaining among the highest globally, protesters and community groups continue to demand structural reforms that allow women to move freely without organizing their entire lives around survival.
Related reading