Ekurhuleni Murders: Family Lays 28- Year-Old Vutomi Mathebula To Rest in Limpopo

• Vutomi Mathebula, a 28-year-old cleaner from Homu 14-A village in Giyani, was reported missing in March 2026 after telling her family she was going shopping
• Her family received ransom calls after she disappeared and sent cash to unknown callers, while her bank card was used at multiple locations in Kempton Park
• Her remains were found in Olifantsfontein in September, and she was one of nine women whose bodies were recovered across Ekurhuleni since July

LIMPOPO - Mourners gathered at the Mathebula homestead in Homu 14-A village, Giyani, Limpopo, to lay to rest a 28-year-old woman whose disappearance seven months ago set off a desperate and painful search that ended not with her return, but with a mortuary visit.

Vutomi Mathebula was last seen on 22 March 2026. She had told her family she was heading out to shop at Dragon City. When calls to her phone went unanswered that same day, her family reported her missing the following morning. She never came home.

Read also

Ekurhuleni Murders: How 9 women's deaths left South Africans mourning and SAPS searching for answers

Ransom calls and bank card withdrawals

In the weeks and months that followed, the family's anguish deepened. Unknown callers contacted them demanding money, threatening that Vutomi would be killed if they did not pay. The family borrowed what they could and transferred the cash. They were never allowed to speak to her directly. Further demands followed.

Meanwhile, withdrawals were traced to her bank card in the Kempton Park area, including at a filling station in Chloorkop and in Glen Marais. Surveillance footage captured at least one person using the card at a machine.

See video of the funeral here:

Body found in Olifantsfontein

Her remains were discovered on 14 September 2026 in Olifantsfontein, east of Johannesburg, in the Ekurhuleni metro. By the time her family was called to identify her at the mortuary, her body had decomposed. Her uncle was able to recognise her by her hairstyle and clothing, according to a family member named Maringa.

Read also

"Something sinister is going on": UK true crime creator raises alarm over 9 women found dead in SA

Vutomi worked as a cleaner and leaves behind a five-year-old child. Her mother said the young child had struggled deeply with the news of her death.

She is one of nine women whose bodies have been recovered across Ekurhuleni between July and September 2026. Eight of the nine have been identified. Police have questioned three people in connection with the deaths but have not confirmed whether all nine cases are linked to a single perpetrator or group.

Suspect in Ekurhuleni killings appear in court

Briefly News reported that three suspects, one male and two females, were arrested over the weekend by the Gauteng Murder and Robbery Unit in connection with a woman's murder in Dawn Park.The case is linked to a series of nine female murders currently under investigation across Gauteng Acting SAPS National Commissioner Lieutenant General Puleng Dimpane said all nine murder cases are receiving priority attention.

Source: Briefly News