Seventh Body Found Near Johannesburg Sparks Serial Killer Fears

Seven women's bodies have been found near Johannesburg in two months, prompting a police public warning and President Ramaphosa to order the cases prioritised.

A seventh woman's body was found on Tuesday in Kwa-Thema, roughly 34 kilometres from Kempton Park east of Johannesburg, in the same area where six other women's bodies have been discovered over the past two months, according to CBS News and the BBC. The South African Police Service says the cases appear linked, though it has not confirmed a serial killer is at work. Acting police minister Firoz Cachalia has established a multidisciplinary investigation into possible links. Most victims were found partially or fully naked with visible bruising, per the Guardian.

The case drew national attention when 38-year-old runner Elizabeth "Tsontso" Moselakgomo disappeared on 9 September after going for a routine jog in Kempton Park, with her eight-year-old daughter raising the alarm, the BBC reports. A frantic social media campaign by fellow runners helped drive a wider search, which led to more bodies being discovered. Her body was found on Saturday and identified by relatives on Monday. Only two of the seven victims have so far been identified, according to the BBC.

The geographic clustering around Kempton Park, near OR Tambo international airport, and the similarity of the cases have revived memories of Moses Sithole, South Africa's most notorious serial killer, who murdered at least 38 women across the East Rand in the 1990s, Briefly News reports. Online, South Africans expressed panic and frustration, with some claiming further bodies in Benoni and Tembisa. Police, however, caution against the serial killer label: spokesperson Athlenda Mathe told reporters nothing yet indicates one killer, and a suspect in the July killing of the first woman, her boyfriend, is in custody, per the Guardian.

Police have issued a public warning urging women in and around Kempton Park not to walk or run alone, particularly in isolated areas, and to travel or exercise in groups. President Cyril Ramaphosa said Tuesday he had directed police to prioritise the murder investigations: "no stone be left unturned in bringing those responsible to justice," he said in a statement. Police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe said the similarities were "sufficiently concerning" to justify the warning and intensified investigations, according to CBS News. One arrest has been made and the suspect remains in custody, the BBC reports.

The killings have reignited anger over South Africa's femicide crisis, which ranks among the worst in the world according to the U.N. agency for gender equality. The country recorded 5,427 murders between April and July, an average of 45 a day, per CBS News. In the year to 31 March 2024, more than 27,600 people were murdered, 5,578 of them women, according to police data cited by the Guardian. Ramaphosa declared gender-based violence a national crisis after protests before the G20 summit in Johannesburg in November 2025, and the government has declared it a national disaster, but campaigners say concrete action has lagged.

Detectives say they are examining a serial killer angle and a possible group of perpetrators, though no linkage has been confirmed. The Commission for Gender Equality has called for urgent preventive action, including a safety audit of affected areas assessing lighting, surveillance, transport routes, neglected spaces, police visibility and emergency access. "Women should not have to be killed before an area receives heightened attention," commission spokesperson Javu Baloyi said. Advocacy groups like Women For Change reject safety advice aimed at women, saying they already take every precaution, and runners have organised memorial events for Moselakgomo.