President Cyril Ramaphosa is set to address the nation on Tuesday evening on government’s response to gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF), as the investigation into a string of women’s killings in Ekurhuleni continues and the number of female bodies discovered in the area since July has risen to 11.
Ramaphosa is scheduled to speak at 7pm on 29 September 2026. The Presidency has said he will outline the steps government is taking to confront GBVF and provide an update on the investigations into the deaths of women in and around Ekurhuleni.
The address comes after Ramaphosa first promised to update the nation following the discovery of nine women’s bodies in the area. Since then, two more bodies have been found, including a woman discovered in Tembisa and another found in Springs.
The Ekurhuleni killings
The investigation began after the bodies of three women were discovered in July and August within about seven kilometres of one another. Six more bodies were subsequently discovered over a 10-day period in September, prompting fears that the cases could be connected.
Government initially recorded nine victims in its 20 September update. They were:
- Busisiwe Mahlangu – found in Kempton Park on 15 July
- Itumeleng Kekana – found in Kempton Park on 3 August
- Nomfesane Mjobo – found in Kempton Park on 26 August
- An unidentified woman – found floating in the Clayville River in Olifantsfontein on 7 September
- Gracious Nkomo – found in Kempton Park on 10 September
- Elizabeth Moselakgomo – found in Kempton Park on 12 September
- An unidentified woman whose name was being withheld until her family was notified – found in Olifantsfontein on 14 September
- Dineo Motapane – found in Kwa-Thema on 15 September
- Jabulile Ntimba – found in Dawn Park on 17 September.
Since that government update, police have reported two further female bodies in the Ekurhuleni area, bringing the total to 11. The latest body was discovered in Springs by a private security company on Sunday.
Police have stressed that the deaths have not been conclusively linked to one perpetrator or a single series of murders.
Lieutenant General Tommy Mthombeni, the Gauteng provincial police commissioner, previously said investigators had identified similarities in some cases but had not found conclusive evidence that the same person or people were responsible. Police have therefore continued to investigate each case while examining possible connections.
Arrests made as investigations continue
There have been several arrests linked to individual cases, but authorities have not announced that a suspected serial killer has been identified.
Three suspects – one man and two women – were arrested in connection with the murder of Jabulile Ntimba, the ninth victim identified in the government’s initial list. SAPS said the arrests were made by the Gauteng Murder and Robbery Unit.
Police have also arrested a 36-year-old man in connection with the murder of the woman whose body was found near Mooifontein Cemetery in Tembisa on 26 September.
According to police, the suspect allegedly fled to Tzaneen in Limpopo following the killing and was arrested there. He was expected to appear in the Tembisa Magistrates’ Court.
The arrests do not mean that police have established that the suspects are responsible for the wider series of killings.
In an earlier case, SAPS said one suspect had been arrested following the discovery of the first body in July. By 14 September, that suspect remained in custody.
Police investigation intensified
SAPS has established a multidisciplinary investigation involving specialist detectives and other resources, including forensic experts, tracking capability, K9 units and investigative psychology.
The Acting National Commissioner, Lieutenant General Puleng Dimpane, said police would continue working to establish what happened in each case and identify possible links.
“We will not rest until we have established the truth. Where there is evidence linking individuals to these crimes, we will pursue them relentlessly and ensure that they face the full might of the law,” Dimpane said.
The government has since elevated the specialised investigation team so that it is coordinated by the Deputy National Commissioner for Detective Services.
Police have appealed to residents, businesses and motorists to preserve CCTV, dashcam and other footage that could assist investigators.
Police Committee chairperson Ian Cameron has also warned against assuming that the cases are connected before investigators establish the facts.
“We must be careful not to claim links that investigators have not established,” Cameron said, adding that the public could assist by providing information, CCTV, automatic number plate recognition footage and other evidence.
Ramaphosa: “I am ashamed of what we men are doing”
The President has repeatedly condemned the violence against women.
Speaking during the National Heritage Day celebrations in Oudtshoorn on 24 September, Ramaphosa described the abuse, rape and killing of women as a national shame.
“I am ashamed of what we men are doing to women,” he said, while also promising to update South Africans on the Ekurhuleni investigation.
Ramaphosa also said: “The heritage of our women is that they must be able to walk around without any fear that they will be attacked or raped or killed.”
He is expected to use Tuesday night’s address to set out government’s response to the wider GBVF crisis, alongside the latest information available on the Ekurhuleni investigations.
Government’s emergency response
Following the discovery of the first nine bodies, the Inter-Ministerial Committee on GBVF approved a Comprehensive Emergency Strategy.
The strategy focuses on three areas – prevention and rebuilding social cohesion; law enforcement, protection, safety and justice; and victim and survivor-centred support.
Government has also increased police visibility in Ekurhuleni under Operation Shanela and ordered greater attention to environmental factors such as overgrown open spaces, illegal dumping and inadequate lighting.
Businesses have been urged to ensure that security systems, lighting, surveillance infrastructure and emergency procedures are functioning and to cooperate with police when footage or other information is required.
The Department of Social Development has also reported a sharp increase in demand for GBV support services.
Between 1 and 16 September, the national Gender-Based Violence Command Centre received 6,782 calls – an average of 424 calls a day. This was 21% higher than the average of 350 calls a day recorded during the same period in August.
On 16 September alone, the centre received 589 calls, its highest daily number during that period.
The wider numbers behind South Africa’s GBV crisis
The Ekurhuleni killings have unfolded against a much broader pattern of violence against women.
Official SAPS statistics for the first three quarters of the 2024/25 financial year recorded 2,884 murders of women, alongside 39,304 reported sexual offences, including 31,303 rape cases. The same data recorded 75,944 domestic-violence-related crimes against women.
SAPS’s 2024/25 annual report recorded 249,804 reported charges for contact crimes against women. Murder accounted for 15.58% of the detection rate for crimes against women, while the overall detection rate for crimes against women was 70.67%.
More recent national crime figures also show that overall murder has declined, but remains at a high level. For January to March 2026, SAPS recorded 5,181 murders nationally – 546 fewer than the 5,727 recorded during the corresponding quarter a year earlier, a decline of 9.5%.
The figures underline an important distinction: a national decline in murder does not remove the particular threat faced by women, particularly in cases involving intimate partners, sexual violence and domestic abuse.
Stats SA’s 2025/26 safety survey found that only 37.9% of people said they felt safe walking alone in their neighbourhood after dark. Among female victims of assault, 31.4% said the perpetrator was a spouse or intimate partner, compared with 2.2% of male victims.
Families demand answers
The deaths have left communities across Ekurhuleni on edge, while families wait for answers about what happened to their relatives.
Government has urged families to report missing women immediately rather than waiting 24 hours. Officials say early reporting can allow police to begin searches and investigations sooner.
The government has also begun providing psychosocial support to families of identified victims.
The Parliamentary Committee on the Presidency has called for comprehensive support for affected families and urged law-enforcement agencies to ensure that investigations result in strong prosecutions.
Deputy President Paul Mashatile, who chairs the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cluster Cabinet Committee, has also condemned the killings and called on law enforcement to work with communities to ensure those responsible are brought to justice.
“Gender-based violence (GBV) has no place in our communities, and all men should be in the forefront condemning such violence and protecting women,” Mashatile said.
What South Africans will be watching for
Ramaphosa’s 7pm address comes as the investigation enters a critical phase.
South Africans are expected to hear what government knows about the 11 deaths, what progress has been made in identifying perpetrators, whether investigators have established links between any of the cases, and what additional measures will be implemented to protect women.
For now, police maintain that the investigations remain active and that similarities between cases should not be treated as proof that they were committed by the same person or group.
Anyone with information that could assist the Ekurhuleni investigation can contact Warrant Officer Elvis Manyike on 082 465 7249 or SAPS Crime Stop on 08600 10111. Information can be provided anonymously.
The 24-hour Gender-Based Violence Command Centre can be reached on 0800 428 428, by SMSing “HELP” to 31531, or through 1207867#.
