Activists and Communities Demand Police Action After Nine Women Found Dead in Kempton Park

• Since July 2026, the bodies of nine women have been discovered across Kempton Park and the broader East Rand, with many showing signs of severe trauma
• Civil society groups, trade unions, and political organisations staged marches and pickets outside the Kempton Park Police Station to demand accountability
• Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi announced a major police lockdown across the area, with a R400,000 reward offered for information on the killings

GAUTENG — Nine women have been found dead across Kempton Park and the broader East Rand since July 2026, triggering mass community protests, intensified police operations, and calls for systemic reform in how authorities handle gender-based violence.

The victims were discovered in several locations, including Olifantsfontein, Clayville, Dawn Park, and KwaThema. Many were found partially clothed with evidence of strangulation, burns, or blunt force trauma. Among those publicly identified are Elizabeth "Tsontso" Moselakgomo, a 38-year-old who disappeared while on a run; Dineo Evelyn Motapane, 38; Gracious Nkomo, 28, whose body was found on the R21 highway; and Itumeleng Kekana, 32.

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Community groups organise ground-level response

Civil society organisations, including the Girls2Women Foundation, the Kempton Park Residence Forum, and the March and March movement, have launched round-the-clock community foot patrols and GBV Brigades to monitor high-risk areas and support affected families. Activists have flagged severe resource shortages as a key obstacle to sustaining those operations.

On 19 September 2026, local residents and runners held a memorial run outside the Kempton Park Police Station to honour the victims. Prior to that, protesters marched from the Kempton Park Civic Centre to the station, where memoranda were handed over demanding stronger police intervention. FEDUSA, Contralesa, the EFF, and other organisations joined those demonstrations.

High-profile figures including Rachel Kolisi, Buntu Petse, and Kwanele Foundation leader Sihle Sibisi have spoken out on social media and at memorial services, condemning what they described as an inadequate state response to the femicide crisis.

Lesufi announces lockdown and reward

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Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi announced the deployment of a major police operation across Kempton Park and surrounding East Rand neighbourhoods. The measures include stop-and-search operations, increased visible policing, and targeted raids. A national detective task force has also been assembled to investigate the killings.

Authorities issued a R400,000 reward for credible information leading to the arrest and prosecution of those responsible. Police have cautioned the public against assuming a single serial killer is responsible, noting that links between the cases are still under investigation.

Civil society has given the Kempton Park SAPS station a formal deadline to respond to demands that include additional patrol vehicles and specialised personnel, citing the area's high rate of kidnappings and violent crime.

More on the Kempton Park killings

• Briefly News recently reported on Minnie Dlamini weighing in on a controversial podcast joke about a missing runner, while she is locked in a legal battle with the show's hosts.
• Handwritten placards and chants filled the streets as a Kempton Park community protested outside their police station, and footage of the march went viral.
• Gauteng's Premier announced a major police lockdown as the hunt for the killers intensified, while most of the victims remained unidentified.

Source: Briefly News