Sonke Gender Justice condemns the killings of five women in Kempton Park, demands urgent action and victim-centred justice

According to a South African Police Service (SAPS) briefing on 13 September by Acting Gauteng Commissioner Major-General Fred Kekana and Brigadier Athlenda Mathe, the four bodies, including women aged 37 and 32, as well as an unidentified woman found on 10 September, were discovered in locations in close proximity to the R21 and behind a hotel in Rhodesfield. The women were reportedly found partially clothed or naked, with visible bruising. The fifth woman found on Saturday was discovered dressed in sports attire; her face had sustained such severe injuries that relatives who viewed the body could not visually confirm her identity. Formal identification was expected at the Germiston mortuary on Monday, 14 September.

We extend our deepest condolences to the families, friends and community of the victims. Our thoughts remain with Elizabeth Moselakgomo’s family as they continue searching for her and await formal identification.

Five women found dead in the same area within two months is not an isolated incident. It is a public safety crisis that demands an urgent and decisive response.

While SAPS has cautioned that it is premature to declare the cases definitively linked, the similarities described by police are deeply alarming and warrant the public safety alert now in place. We welcome the deployment of a multidisciplinary task team, led by Deputy Provincial Commissioner Major-General Mbuso Khumalo and including the Murder and Robbery Unit and Investigative Psychology Unit.

We are also seriously concerned by SAPS’ report of approximately 10 additional cases at Kempton Park Police Station involving people who were allegedly lured through online dating platforms before being robbed or sexually assaulted. Taken together, these incidents point to an urgent need for coordinated policing, community safety interventions and stronger accountability from digital platforms operating in South Africa.

Sonke Gender Justice therefore calls for the following urgent actions:

1. 1. Urgent, transparent and adequately resourced investigation: The newly established task team must be supported with the full forensic, investigative and victim support capacity required, including family liaison officers and regular, dignified communication with affected families. We welcome Acting National Commissioner Lieutenant-General Puleng Dimpane’s directive to establish this team and stress that it must not be disbanded prematurely.
2. 2. No victim-blaming — focus on perpetrators and prevention: While we appreciate SAPS’ stated commitment to women’s safety, safety messaging must not place the burden on women to avoid walking, jogging or simply existing in public spaces. Women have the right to safety everywhere. The focus must remain on identifying and prosecuting those responsible, and on making public spaces safer through visible policing, improved lighting, CCTV and community patrols, not on restricting women’s freedom.
3. Immediate community-based safety response: The City of Ekurhuleni, community policing forums and private security companies in Rhodesfield and surrounding areas must immediately activate coordinated safety measures, including safer jogging routes, increased visibility and accessible community information points.
4. Specialised support for families and the community: The trauma caused by these discoveries extends beyond the immediate families of the victims. Sonke urges the Department of Social Development to provide psychosocial support to bereaved families, first responders and residents of Rhodesfield.
5. Online safety accountability: The reported online-luring cases must be investigated urgently, and dating platforms operating in South Africa must be engaged on stronger safety verification, reporting and response mechanisms.

This is gender-based violence and femicide at its most brutal. It is unfolding in a country where femicide already far exceeds the global average, and it cannot, must not, be normalised. We cannot afford to wait for another body before acting with the urgency this crisis demands.

We appeal to anyone who may have witnessed suspicious behaviour in Rhodesfield, along the R21 or near the Protea Hotel area, or who has information about the movements of the victims, to contact SAPS Warrant Officer Elvis Manyike on 082 465 7249 or to report information anonymously via the MySAPS app.

ENDS/

For media enquiries, contact:

Amukelani Chauke, Regional Communications and Social Media Coordinator, Sonke Gender Justice: amu@genderjustice.org.za | 074 857 4254

Bafana Khumalo, Co-Executive Director, Sonke Gender Justice: bafana@genderjustice.org.za | 082 578 4479

NOTE TO EDITORS

Established in 2006, Sonke Gender Justice is a South African-based non-profit organisation working across Africa to advance gender equality, prevent gender-based violence, strengthen state accountability for GBVF, and promote gender transformation. Sonke believes that women and men, girls and boys can work together to resist patriarchy, advocate for gender justice, and build safer, more equal communities. In 2026, Sonke celebrates 20 years of service.

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