Posted by Chinenye on Thu 17th Sep, 2026 - tori.ng
Police in South Africa have discovered the bodies of nine women in the Johannesburg area over the past two months.
(Crime scene where the body was Found. Photo by Punch News)
South African police have recovered the ninth body of a woman east of Johannesburg in two months as a string of murders deepens public alarm.
Officers have locked down Kempton Park in the Ekurhuleni municipality and set up roadblocks after three partially clothed bodies turned up this week.
Deputy Police Chief Tebello Mosikili told reporters at Dawn Park, where the latest body was discovered on the roadside, that the pattern cannot continue.
Police are offering a reward of 400,000 rand, roughly $25,000, for information leading to the arrest of whoever is responsible.
The opposition Democratic Alliance added another $31,000 to encourage tips.
Mosikili said investigators will determine whether Thursday's discovery links to the earlier killings or represents a copycat case.
Gender-based violence runs deep in South Africa, where the United Nations reports one in three women faces physical or sexual violence during her lifetime, despite repeated government promises to address the crisis.
One victim, 38-year-old Elizabeth Moselakgomo, left her eight-year-old daughter at home to go jogging and never returned.
Her body was found on September 12 behind a hotel.
Fellow runners launched a social media campaign to find her, drawing attention to earlier cases and leading to more bodies being discovered.
The first victim, a 37-year-old woman, was found naked and bound with cable ties on July 15.
A suspect was arrested two days later and appeared in court Wednesday.
Mosikili said the man is a foreigner but could not disclose his nationality.
The second victim, 32, was found partially clothed on August 24, while a third was discovered naked and badly decomposed on September 10.