JOHANNESBURG, South Africa : Gauteng police have expanded their investigation into women’s deaths across Ekurhuleni to include a seventh case. The additional victim was found in a river in Clayville on 7 September, but the case was publicly added to the multidisciplinary review on Tuesday afternoon as investigators looked back across station records for possible connections.
What changed in the Ekurhuleni women’s-deaths investigation?
Police added a seventh case after reviewing the death of a woman found in a Clayville river on 7 September. The specialised team will test it alongside six other cases. Police have not confirmed that all seven deaths are linked or that one serial offender is responsible.
Why the count changed from six to seven
Acting Gauteng Police Commissioner Major-General Fred Kekana said the newly included victim was believed to be in her late twenties. Her body was discovered in a river in Clayville, near Tembisa Mall, on 7 September. The case was not a new Tuesday discovery; the new development was the decision to bring it into the task team’s wider review.
SABC News reported the police confirmation at 2:47 PM SAST. eNCA carried Kekana’s briefing shortly beforehand and reported that the woman remained unidentified.
Kekana said no visible injuries had been identified during the preliminary examination. That detail does not establish how she died and should not be treated as proof that her case matches or differs from the others. Pathology findings and scene evidence will determine whether there is a connection.
The KwaThema case remains separately unproven
Earlier on Tuesday, a sixth woman’s body was found beside a road in KwaThema, Springs. Police said a preliminary examination suggested pressure to the neck, but a formal post-mortem was still pending. Investigators had not established whether that woman was killed at the scene or left there later.
The Citizen’s report on the briefing says police are examining both the Clayville and KwaThema cases with the same specialised team. It also records Kekana’s statement that only two of the seven women had been positively identified by the briefing cutoff.
CRIME PREVENTION
Police Add Seventh Woman’s Death to Ekurhuleni Probe
Sep 16, 2026
Sep 16, 2026
5 min read
Published
Updated:
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa : Gauteng police have expanded their investigation into women’s deaths across Ekurhuleni to include a seventh case. The additional victim was found in a river in Clayville on 7 September, but the case was publicly added to the multidisciplinary review on Tuesday afternoon as investigators looked back across station records for possible connections.
What changed in the Ekurhuleni women’s-deaths investigation?
Police added a seventh case after reviewing the death of a woman found in a Clayville river on 7 September. The specialised team will test it alongside six other cases. Police have not confirmed that all seven deaths are linked or that one serial offender is responsible.
Why the count changed from six to seven
Acting Gauteng Police Commissioner Major-General Fred Kekana said the newly included victim was believed to be in her late twenties. Her body was discovered in a river in Clayville, near Tembisa Mall, on 7 September. The case was not a new Tuesday discovery; the new development was the decision to bring it into the task team’s wider review.
ADVERTISEMENT
SABC News reported the police confirmation at 2:47 PM SAST. eNCA carried Kekana’s briefing shortly beforehand and reported that the woman remained unidentified.
Kekana said no visible injuries had been identified during the preliminary examination. That detail does not establish how she died and should not be treated as proof that her case matches or differs from the others. Pathology findings and scene evidence will determine whether there is a connection.
The KwaThema case remains separately unproven
Earlier on Tuesday, a sixth woman’s body was found beside a road in KwaThema, Springs. Police said a preliminary examination suggested pressure to the neck, but a formal post-mortem was still pending. Investigators had not established whether that woman was killed at the scene or left there later.
The Citizen’s report on the briefing says police are examining both the Clayville and KwaThema cases with the same specialised team. It also records Kekana’s statement that only two of the seven women had been positively identified by the briefing cutoff.
Those facts require careful wording. Including a case in one coordinated investigation is not the same as confirming a common suspect, motive or method. Police are comparing the deaths so that potential links are not missed.
ADVERTISEMENT
Police still reject a premature serial-killer conclusion
The Associated Press reported that SAPS had issued a public safety alert because similarities were concerning enough to intensify the investigation. Police nevertheless stopped short of saying one person was responsible.
One suspect remains in custody in connection with the first death, recorded in July. Authorities have not connected that suspect to the six later cases. An arrest in one case is not evidence of responsibility for the others, and it is not a conviction.
President Cyril Ramaphosa had already ordered priority treatment for the investigations when the public count stood at six. Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia and Acting National Commissioner Lieutenant-General Puleng Dimpane were due to meet the task team on Tuesday evening for a progress briefing and to assess whether more operational resources were needed.
What residents can do without spreading rumours
Police have asked people with information to use official reporting channels. Residents and businesses in the affected areas can preserve original CCTV, dashcam and access-control recordings, especially material with intact timestamps. Reposting edited clips or naming uncharged people online can damage both the investigation and innocent people.
The widening investigation has generated understandable fear, especially among women who walk, work or exercise early in the morning. Safety advice should not shift responsibility onto potential victims. Public authorities remain responsible for patrols, lighting, transport safety, evidence collection and clear updates.
Popular Today
ADVERTISEMENT
XTRAfrica’s live Kempton Park forensic report explains the first five cases and the confirmed sexual-assault findings. The broader state response can be followed through the report on Ramaphosa’s organised-crime policing measures, while the site’s Booysens court-shooting coverage shows the same evidence-first approach to unresolved criminal cases.
What remains unknown
The Clayville victim’s identity, cause of death and possible relationship to the other cases had not been confirmed publicly. Formal findings were also pending for the woman found in KwaThema. SAPS had not announced a common offender, a single investigative theory covering all seven deaths or a new arrest tied to the wider series.
The next decisive updates will be formal identifications, completed post-mortems, disclosed forensic links or arrests supported by specific evidence. Until then, the verified headline is that seven cases are under coordinated review not that a serial-killer case has been proved.
ADVERTISEMENT
Related Articles
