NATIONAL NEWS - DA mayoral candidate for Ekurhuleni Khathutshelo Rasilingwane has announced a bounty of R500 000 for the Ekurhuleni murder suspects.
And the South African Police Service (Saps) is offering a R400 000 reward and has deployed a top team, led by the deputy provincial commissioner to solve the cases.
The discovery of eight slain women’s bodies left half-naked across the East Rand and in Tshwane has sparked a national outcry for intervention.
Eight female victims have been found over two months – with six of them discovered this month.
Criminologist points to serial killer pattern
Criminologist and criminal profiler Pixie du Toit said this was definitely the work of a serial killer and couldn’t believe police said they were still considering whether it was a serial killer.
“The guidelines we follow for pinning such a label on someone: three murders must be committed within a very short period in the same area, and using more or less the same modus operandi,” she said.
Du Toit, who completed a criminology Phd in the US, said to create an accurate profile of the serial killer, one would have to visit the scenes and know how he killed the women.
“Other factors to consider were whether there was a taxi rank or train station close by to establish if he was travelling to Kempton Park to commit the killings.”
Du Toit said there has been a serial killer every year since 1994 somewhere in the country.
“The first serial killer was labelled the Station [Strangler],” she added. Du Toit said she suspects the serial killer doesn’t live in Kempton Park and wondered what weapon he used, because it couldn’t be a firearm as it would raise the alarm.
Kempton Park residents say fear is growing
On Tuesday night, a candlelit march was held in Kempton Park for runner Elizabeth “Tsontso” Moselakgomo after her body was found in Rhodesfield on Saturday.
Runners from Gauteng and as far afield as Durban have hosted tribute runs, wearing black, in her memory after she failed to return from an afternoon run.
Janey du Plessis, a single mother who stays and works in Kempton Park, said they live in fear.
“It’s so close to home. I also walk to my local Spar with my daughter. Everyone is vigilant. We just went to the shops in a group of five and stayed together the whole time.”
Du Plessis said even children were aware of the killings and stayed alert. “They talk about it at the primary and high schools.”
DA spokesperson on community safety Crezane Bosch said while Gauteng has shown declines in major crime categories in the first quarter of the 2026-27 year, a closer examination of the figures at metro, district and police station levels reveal a concerning reality.
“Notable increases in contact crime at several police stations indicate Gauteng remains exposed to serious and violent offences, including murder, attempted murder, rape, sexual assault and other sexual offences,” she said.
SAPS warns against false claims
Police have warned members of the public against circulating misleading information after an image of a man wanted in connection with a Dobsonville rape case was incorrectly linked online to the investigation into the deaths of eight women in Ekurhuleni.
The poster circulating on social media features a man wanted in connection with a rape reported in Dobsonville, Soweto, on 1 September.
The poster circulating on social media features a man wanted for questioning in connection with a rape reported in Dobsonville, Soweto, on 1 September. Photo: SAPS
Police have clarified that the image is not connected to the Ekurhuleni murders.
SAPS has also not released a photograph or identikit of a suspect in connection with the eight women whose bodies have been discovered in the Ekurhuleni area since July.
Read more: Did ‘Kempton Park serial killer’ move to Potch? Police speak out
Article: Caxton publication, The Citizen
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