The Nine Women of Ekurhuleni: A Timeline of Grief and Anger
Between 15 July and 17 September 2026, nine women’s bodies were discovered scattered across Ekurhuleni, Gauteng — in vacant fields, along roadsides and in open lots from Kempton Park to Kwa-Thema. The murders have become one of the most painful markers of South Africa’s ongoing femicide crisis.
The first body was found on 15 July. For almost two months, cases trickled in quietly. Then, from 10 September onward, seven bodies were found in just one week, forcing the country to pay attention. The ninth victim, Jabulile Ntimba, was found partly clothed beside a road in Dawn Park/Boksburg on 17 September.
The women have been identified as part of a community that uses those open spaces to walk, run and commute. Police listed the recovery sites as Kempton Park, Pomona, Olifantsfontein, Rhodesfield, Clayville, Kwa-Thema and Dawn Park. Some victims were found naked or partially clothed with visible injuries, underscoring the gendered nature of the attacks.
Four of the eight victims identified by 20 September were publicly named: Elizabeth “Tsontso” Moselakgomo, 38, who disappeared three days earlier after an afternoon run in Kempton Park; Itumeleng Kekana, 32; Dineo Evelyn Motapane, 38; and Gracious Nkomo, 28. Moselakgomo’s case drew national attention — women in Johannesburg staged memorial runs holding signs that read “Enough. Stop Femicide.”
What do we know about the investigation?
As of 20 September, police said three people had been questioned and one arrest had been made in connection with the first July case. In the case of the ninth victim, two women aged 31 and 38 appeared in court charged with murder, perverting the course of justice and possession of a dangerous weapon. The National Prosecuting Authority said they knew Ntimba and were with her on the night of the killing, with a possible relationship dispute as motive. A man arrested alongside them was released due to insufficient evidence. SAPS has not concluded that a single offender is responsible and has not confirmed the cases are linked.
The political response was swift but criticized as slow. President Cyril Ramaphosa issued a written statement on 15 September saying “no stone will be left unturned” and on 21 September, speaking on the sidelines of an ANC Veterans League golf day in Woodmead, promised more money, resources and technology for investigations.
For many South Africans, the Ekurhuleni nine are not an anomaly. Between April and June 2026 alone, SAPS recorded 5,427 murders nationally, including 569 women murdered, 1,052 attempted murders of women, and 9,201 rapes. South Africa’s femicide rate in 2022 was 12.2 per 100,000 — nearly six times the global average.
Activists are now renewing calls to make femicide a standalone crime in South African law, arguing it would improve crime-scene coordination, forensic capacity and how gender-related motives are investigated. For now, families in Ekurhuleni are left holding photos and demanding that their daughters, sisters and mothers are not reduced to a statistic.
