Eighth Woman Found Dead In Gauteng As Police Probe Possible Links

Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia has confirmed that eight women’s bodies have now been discovered in Gauteng, as police intensify an investigation into whether the deaths are connected.

Cachalia made the announcement during a high-level meeting in Parktown on Tuesday night, where senior police officials and investigators briefed government on the probe. The eighth body was reportedly discovered in Olifantsfontein.

The latest development follows the discovery of a woman’s body in a river in Clayville, near Tembisa Mall, on 7 September.

Acting Gauteng Provincial Police Commissioner Major General Fred Kekana previously confirmed that the Clayville case had been added to the investigation after police became aware of it while reviewing other cases. The woman was believed to be in her late 20s and was found wearing only her underwear.

Gauteng Women’s Bodies: Police Expand Investigation To Eight Cases

Kekana said investigators had initially been dealing with six bodies before identifying the Clayville case as part of the wider investigation. He said the discovery prompted police to return to individual stations and establish whether other cases could also be linked to the investigation. The Clayville woman subsequently became the seventh body under investigation.

“After noticing that bodies had been recovered, we returned to our police stations. Unfortunately, it came to light that on the 7th of this month, the body of a woman in her late 20s was found in the river in Clayville, next to Tembisa Mall,” he said.

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“Therefore, this body will also be included as part of those to be investigated by the whole team.”

“Therefore, we don’t have six bodies. This one will be included as the seventh body.”

Kekana said the investigation would examine all available information to determine whether there was a connection between the cases. Police are investigating deaths involving women whose bodies were found in and around Kempton Park and other parts of Ekurhuleni. The discovery of the eighth body in Olifantsfontein has now expanded the number of cases being examined.

Gauteng Women’s Bodies: KwaThema Victim Appears To Have Been Strangled

The investigation also includes the discovery of a woman’s body beside a road in KwaThema, Springs, on Tuesday. Kekana said a preliminary assessment by a pathologist indicated that the woman appeared to have been strangled around the neck. A post-mortem examination was expected to be conducted on Wednesday.

“The pathologist who examined the body gave a preliminary report that the woman appears to have been strangled around the neck. That’s what we have for now,” Kekana said.

“What I can assure you is that the team is hard at work, and we are doing all we can to link anything that can assist,” he said.

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KwaThema is approximately 45km from Kempton Park. Residents who gathered at the scene said the woman was found without clothes and appeared to have been dead for several days. Police have not yet established who was responsible for her death.

Gauteng Women’s Bodies: KwaThema Residents Fear For Their Safety

KwaThema resident Zanele Shabalala said residents learned about the discovery after a local woman shared a photograph in a community WhatsApp group. She said residents arrived at the scene after receiving the alert early in the morning. Shabalala said residents were concerned about the safety of women and children in the area.

“About 6am to 7am, we got the call that there’s a lady who was killed here,” Shabalala said.

“When we got here, we found the body of a woman with no clothes on. We requested the police that we see because we have children, and our children are going anywhere they want to go. So we then went to see.”

Shabalala said residents believed the woman had died violently, although they did not know what had been used to kill her. She said residents also believed the body may have been left in the area several days after the woman died. She appealed to authorities to intervene.

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“Whoever has done this, I wish God could expose him because the woman was naked. You can’t see what it is that they used to kill her. You don’t know what it is that they used, but she’s dead.”

“You find that she died five or three days ago. And whoever killed this lady, he dumped her here around the time when it was raining, around past three to four in the morning.”

Shabalala said residents had no indication of who could be behind the deaths. She said the situation had left women in the community feeling unsafe, including when they were at home. She called on government to take action.

“We don’t know, but remember he’s a child of a parent. And we feel what is happening as women. We are afraid. We are afraid as women. We don’t know because even when we are at home, they come even at home. So we are afraid. We are no longer safe in this community.”

“We call on the government to do something so that we can be free as women.”