The women
These were people, not data points. This page lists only what SAPS or the victims' own families have made public. No photographs, no addresses, no speculation about their lives. If a family asks for a name to be removed, it will be.
Who the victims were, in numbers
Victimology is how investigators understand who is at risk. It is also the most useful safety information on this site. Every figure says how many cases it rests on.
9/9
women
37
median age (5 known: 28, 32, 37, 38, 38)
28, 38
age range of known ages; 4 unknown
6
named publicly (by police or family)
2
not publicly identified (1 confirmed unidentified)
1
with a known last-seen point (on foot, evening, Rhodesfield)
- Described as
- Black women in their thirties (Daily Maverick, on the first five). SAPS has not published ages for #3, #5 or #6.
- Where found
- Rhodesfield (3) · Clayville (2) · Pomona (1) · Olifantsfontein (1) · KwaThema (1) · Dawn Park (1)
- When found
- July 2026: 1 · August 2026: 1 · September 2026: 7
- What she was doing
- Known for one victim only, running, alone, in the early evening. For the others it is not public whether they were walking, commuting, working or elsewhere entirely.
- What this does not tell you
- Anything about a perpetrator. A pattern in who was harmed says who should be careful, not who did it.
| # | Found | Who | Where | What was reported | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | 15 July 2026 | Busisiwe Mahlangu Identified Named as Busisiwe Mahlangu in the list of the nine women that The Citizen (08:22, 21 September) and Joburg ETC attribute to national police spokesperson Brig Athlenda Mathe, which gives her as found in Kempton Park on 15 July. The name was first reported on 20 September by Sowetan and TimesLIVE without a place or date. Earlier on this record: 'Identified by police; name not publicly released by SAPS.' The age of 37 comes from the earlier reporting; the police list gives no ages. | Open veld near the R21 highway, Rhodesfield / Kempton Park Rhodesfield | Found naked / half-naked, restrained with cable ties. Cause of death not public. | BNO NewsBriefly.co.zaIOLDaily MaverickThe CitizenJoburg ETC |
| #2 | 3 August 2026 | Itumeleng Kekana Identified Named by Kempton Park SAPS on the day she was found (Kempton Express, 3 August) and by her family (Sowetan, 15 September). Originally from Qwa Qwa, living in Kempton Park. Reported missing on 17 July. Identified at the scene on the day, according to Kempton Park SAPS, and by her family, who told Sowetan she could be identified only from her body size, complexion and dyed hair. National spokesperson Brig. Athlenda Mathe confirmed to Sowetan that she is among the women whose bodies were recently discovered in the Kempton Park area. | In the bushes next to the road near Great North Road, close to Max Informal Settlement, Pomona, Kempton Park (Sowetan: near a river along the R21) Pomona | Kempton Park SAPS (3 August): found in the bushes next to the road with multiple stab wounds. Family (Sowetan): partially naked, facial injuries that left her face unrecognisable, bruises and cuts below the breast. Early national reporting: partially clothed, visible bruising. Cause of death not public. | BNO NewsBriefly.co.zaIOLThe CitizenKempton Express (The Citizen)Sowetan |
| #3 | 10 September 2026 | Gracious Nkomo Identified Identified on Thursday 17 September as Gracious Nkomo, 28. National SAPS spokesperson Brig Athlenda Mathe is reported by Sowetan, IOL and EWN as saying her family positively identified her at the Germiston Mortuary on Thursday. Her name is on this site because police and her family have published it. The note here previously read that she was unidentified as of 15 September and that identification was difficult because of decomposition (Daily Maverick). The outlets disagree on how many of the nine women have now been identified, IOL calling her the third and EWN the fourth; SAPS has not given a figure of its own in these reports. Her age was not public before this identification. | Rhodesfield area, Kempton Park Rhodesfield | Naked, advanced decomposition, as reported on 14 September by the earlier sources on this record. On 17 September Brig Athlenda Mathe, reported by Sowetan, IOL and EWN, described the body as found partially clothed. Both accounts are recorded as published and SAPS has not reconciled them. Cause of death not public. | BNO NewsBriefly.co.zaIOLDaily MaverickSowetanIOL / The StarEWN |
| #4 | 12 September 2026 | Elizabeth 'Tsontso' Mokolo Moselakgomo Identified A runner. Went for an evening run on Main Road, Rhodesfield on 9 September and did not return; her daughter raised the alarm. Body found during the search for her; formally identified 14 September. Named publicly by police and family. | York Road/Street, Rhodesfield, behind the airport hotels (reported as 'behind the Protea Hotel' and 'near the Southern Sun OR Tambo') Rhodesfield | Partially clothed, in sports/running wear. Cause of death not public. | The WitnessDaily MaverickBriefly.co.zaThe CitizenIOL / The Star |
| #5 | 14 September 2026 | Woman, age not public Identified Described as a woman in her thirties (IOL). The police list published on 21 September (The Citizen, Joburg ETC, attributed to Brig Athlenda Mathe) gives the woman found at Olifantsfontein on 14 September as identified, with her name withheld until her family is informed. Earlier on this record: identity not public as of 15 Sept. | Roadside veld near the R21 at Olifantsfontein, close to the old Comair aviation training centre Olifantsfontein | Half-naked, visible bruising. Cause of death not public. | The WitnessThe CitizenSA PeopleIOLThe CitizenJoburg ETC |
| #6 | 15 September 2026 | Dineo Evelyn Motapane Identified Identified by her family at the Springs Mortuary on the afternoon of 16 September (eNCA, IOL); IOL gives her age as 38. eNCA reports police as saying she was last seen alive on Sunday and that her family had not reported her missing when her body was found. Before the identification, police estimated her age at about 35 (EWN) and 'believed to be in her 30s' (eNCA), DNA samples had been taken, and two families at the scene feared she was their missing daughter (TimesLIVE). The identification was officially confirmed on Thursday 17 September in an SAPS statement carried by SAnews, which names her as Dineo Evelyn Motapane, 38, gives the Springs Mortuary identification by her family as having taken place on Wednesday, and records Acting National Commissioner Lt-Gen Puleng Dimpane's condolences to her family. Until then the identification rested on news reports alone. | Roadside behind KwaThema Centre, KwaThema, Springs KwaThema | Advanced state of decomposition (eNCA, EWN). Cause of death not public. | IOL / The StarEWNEWNeNCATimesLIVETimesLIVEeNCAIOLSAnews (government news agency) |
| #7 | 7 September 2026 | Woman, age not public Unidentified Described only as 'a female in her late 20s'. The police list published on 21 September (The Citizen, Joburg ETC) gives the woman found in the Clayville River, Olifantsfontein, on 7 September as unknown, and IOL reports Lt-Gen Tebello Mosikili appealing that day for help to identify her. Earlier on this record: identity not public. | A river in Clayville (Olifantsfontein / Tembisa side of the R21) Clayville | Not reported. Cause of death not public. | TimesLIVEThe WitnessIOLThe CitizenIOL |
| #8 | 15 September 2026 | Woman, age not public Identification unclear Nothing about her has been made public: no age, no description, no identification. | Clayville River opposite Tembisa Mall (Lt-Gen Dimpane, quoted by The Witness: 'picked up from Olifantsfontein', 'found or discovered at Clayville River opposite Thembisa Mall'); earlier reported as 'a river in Olifantsfontein' (Dimpane, via Briefly) Clayville | Not reported. Cause of death not public. | The WitnessBriefly.co.zaThe WitnessIOLThe CitizenJoburg ETC |
| #9 | 17 September 2026 | Jabulile Ntimba Identified Her name is not public. Police, quoted by News24 without a named officer, describe her as a black woman of around 30 years of age, and The Witness gives her as estimated to be in her 30s. No exact age has been released, so no age is recorded in the figures on this site. IOL reported at about midday on 17 September an early indication that a family member had identified the body, but it attributes that to no one, police have not confirmed it and no name has been published by police or by a family, so this record still carries her as not identified. The earlier note here said only that she had not been identified. On Saturday 19 September at 15:03 The Citizen reported that the woman who had been reported missing this week, and who had been taken to be the woman found here, is alive and has come forward, and that her family's identification of a body at the state mortuary was wrong. She is not one of the dead and her name is not recorded on this site. The Citizen says the ninth body is now unidentified. SAPS has published nothing on the mix-up, and the earlier wording above, IOL's report of an early indication of a family identification, is kept here as it was published. On Monday 21 September Deputy National Commissioner Lt-Gen Tebello Mosikili named her as Jabulile Ntimba when addressing the media in Ekurhuleni, as carried by Sowetan at 13:10, Briefly.co.za at 12:19 and IOL around midday, so her name is now recorded here and she is carried as identified. IOL gives her as about 30; no exact age has been released, so no age is recorded in the figures. | Dawn Park, Ekurhuleni (Maj-Gen Fred Kekana, reported by IOL) Dawn Park | Half naked, beside the road. The Citizen (08:31 on 17 September) describes the body as semi naked and wrapped in a sheet and eNCA (08:35) as half naked and wrapped in a sheet on the side of the road. News24 (08:45) describes her as found face down in a blue T-shirt and pink underwear and does not mention a sheet. Both accounts are recorded as published; they have not been reconciled by SAPS. The only account of how the body came to be there remains Maj-Gen Fred Kekana's preliminary statement that the remains were dumped at the scene and that the incident happened somewhere else. On Saturday 19 September at 07:50 The Witness reported the acting Gauteng police commissioner, whose first name it gives as Frank where this record has carried him as Fred, saying that her throat appeared to have been slit and that her exact cause of death would have to be established through forensic examination. IOL's The Star report of Friday 18 September describes her as found with a stab wound and what appeared to be a slit throat, in the reporter's own words and not attributed to any named officer. These are the first accounts of her injuries on this record, both are reported wording rather than a transcript, and no post-mortem finding has been released for her. Cause of death not public. | IOL / The StarThe CitizeneNCANews24The WitnessIOL / The StarSAnews (government news agency)The CitizenIOL / The StarThe WitnessTimesLIVEIOL / The StareNCASowetanBriefly.co.zaIOL / The Star |
Went missing → found
For one woman the public knows both ends of the story. For the others, only the end. The empty cells are not laziness, they are what SAPS has not released, and they are exactly what an official missing-person notice would fill.
| # | Who | Last seen | Found | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Busisiwe Mahlangu | Not public | 15 July 2026 Open veld near the R21 highway, Rhodesfield / Kempton Park | , |
| #2 | Itumeleng Kekana | Not public | 3 August 2026 In the bushes next to the road near Great North Road, close to Max Informal Settlement, Pomona, Kempton Park (Sowetan: near a river along the R21) | , |
| #3 | Gracious Nkomo | Not public | 10 September 2026 Rhodesfield area, Kempton Park | , |
| #4 | Elizabeth 'Tsontso' Mokolo Moselakgomo | Wednesday 9 September 2026, evening Main Road, Rhodesfield, running | 12 September 2026 York Road/Street, Rhodesfield, behind the airport hotels (reported as 'behind the Protea Hotel' and 'near the Southern Sun OR Tambo') | 3 days ~0.6 km from where she was last seen |
| #5 | Woman, age not public | Not public | 14 September 2026 Roadside veld near the R21 at Olifantsfontein, close to the old Comair aviation training centre | , |
| #6 | Dineo Evelyn Motapane | Not public | 15 September 2026 Roadside behind KwaThema Centre, KwaThema, Springs | , |
| #7 | Woman, age not public | Not public | 7 September 2026 A river in Clayville (Olifantsfontein / Tembisa side of the R21) | , |
| #8 | Woman, age not public | Not public | 15 September 2026 Clayville River opposite Tembisa Mall (Lt-Gen Dimpane, quoted by The Witness: 'picked up from Olifantsfontein', 'found or discovered at Clayville River opposite Thembisa Mall'); earlier reported as 'a river in Olifantsfontein' (Dimpane, via Briefly) | , |
| #9 | Jabulile Ntimba | Not public | 17 September 2026 Dawn Park, Ekurhuleni (Maj-Gen Fred Kekana, reported by IOL) | , |
Distances are straight-line between approximate points. A body found 3 days after a disappearance and 1 km away tells investigators something; the public doesn't need to guess what.
Help identify these women
EWN and The Witness reported on 16 September that only two of the eight women have been identified. Sources: EWN, The Witness
Earlier reports do not agree on which women those are. Daily Maverick reported on 14 September that police spokesperson Brig. Athlenda Mathe said that, of the five women then found, only Ms Moselakgomo and the first woman had been identified, and Sowetan reported on 15 September that Itumeleng Kekana's family had identified her. Sources: Daily Maverick, Sowetan
On 15 September, EWN reported the Gauteng Department of Health as saying that two of the five women found by then had been identified by their families and three had not. Forensic teams are taking samples for DNA analysis to establish who those three women are. Source: EWN
Deputy National Commissioner Lt-Gen Tebello Mosikili said 17 women have been reported missing in Kempton Park since January, and that 13 of them have been located and reunited with their families. Sources: EWN, IOL / The Star
This record shows 7 of the 9 women as identified (#1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6 and #9), based on the reports above, which do not fully agree with each other: where sources disagree.
“There are unknown victims and we are calling upon families in particular around this area to come forward if they know of any family member who cannot account for their whereabouts.”
policeLieutenant-General Puleng Dimpane, Acting National Police Commissioner, 15 September 2026
Source: IOL“GDoH appeals to families who have reported loved ones missing and who may have reason to believe that their relative could be among the three unidentified deceased persons to approach the Germiston Forensic Pathology Service for assistance with the identification process.”
officialSteve Mabona, Spokesperson, Gauteng Department of Health, 15 September 2026
Source: EWNThe women not yet named
Where an official's own words were published, they are quoted exactly. Otherwise the table says whose estimate it is and who reported it. Where no official has described a woman, the table says so. Places are neighbourhoods, as reported.
| # | Found | Where | What officials have said about her |
|---|---|---|---|
| #7 | 7 September | Clayville | “a female in her late 20s” Maj-Gen Fred Kekana, acting Gauteng police commissioner, 15 September Source: TimesLIVE |
| #8 | Made public 15 September Daily Maverick and IOL report that she was found on 7 September. No direct quote from SAPS gives the date. Sources: Daily Maverick, IOL | Clayville | No description released. |
Not listed: #5, whom this record shows as identified. Her name has not been released.
If someone you love is missing, or you know something
Germiston Forensic Pathology Service
Gauteng Department of Health
The Gauteng Department of Health has asked families who have reported a woman missing, and believe she could be one of the three women it described as unidentified, as EWN reported on 15 September, to approach this office for help with identification.
Source: EWNW/O Elvis Manyike, SAPS
SAPS has asked anyone with information to contact him. A statement from President Ramaphosa, carried by SAnews on 15 September, also asked anyone who is missing a relative or friend to call him.
Sources: The Citizen, SAnews (government news agency)MySAPS app
SAPS says information can be given anonymously through the app.
Sources: The Citizen, SAnews (government news agency)If a woman you know is missing and you have not reported it yet, report it at any police station first.
Please do not post a missing woman's name or photo online as one of these women. Take what you know to the channels above: families should hear it from officials first.
This section carries only what officials and named outlets have published about identifying the women. It leaves out photographs, clothing, injuries and guesses.