A high-level delegation of South African government officials and police chiefs is expected to meet on Tuesday evening over the discovery of seven women’s bodies in various parts of Gauteng.
The South African Police Service (SAPS) said in a statement that Acting Minister of Police Firoz Cachalia, Minister of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities Sindisiwe Chikunga, Deputy Minister of Police Polly Boshielo, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi and Acting National Commissioner of SAPS Lieutenant General Puleng Dimpane would lead the meeting.
The delegation is expected to receive a comprehensive briefing on the latest developments in the investigations into the deaths.
Police To Review Investigations
According to SAPS, the meeting will focus on the progress of the investigations, the deployment of multidisciplinary expertise and measures being taken to identify those responsible and bring them to justice.
The delegation will meet senior SAPS management and investigators at the police’s Gauteng Provincial Office in Parktown.
“The meeting underscores the seriousness with which the government and the South African Police Service are treating these incidents and the commitment to ensuring that every available resource and area of expertise is brought to bear on the investigations,” SAPS said.
The police said further details would be communicated after the meeting.
Seven Women’s Bodies Under Investigation
The meeting comes after police added the body of another woman found floating in a river in Clayville, Ekurhuleni, to a dedicated investigation into the deaths of women whose bodies have been discovered in the area.
The development brought to seven the number of bodies being examined by a multidisciplinary police team investigating whether the deaths are connected.
Gauteng acting police commissioner, Maj.-Gen. Fred Kekana, said the latest body was discovered on September 7 in a river near the Mall of Tembisa.
“After noticing that there are bodies that were picked up, we went back to our police stations around. Unfortunately, it came to light that on the 7th of this month, that is last week, a body of a female in her late twenties was observed in the river in Clayville, next to Tembisa Mall,” Kekana told journalists.
“Therefore this body will also then be included to be investigated by part of the whole team. Therefore, it is no more six bodies, this one, we will include it now as the seventh body so that we don’t leave anything.”
Latest Victim Yet To Be Identified
Kekana said the woman was found naked but was still wearing her underwear.
“She was found naked but with her underwear on. We don’t want to speculate whether clothes were taken by the flow of river or what, but we have included it now to be part of what we are going to look at,” he said.
A preliminary examination of the September 7 body found no visible injuries, according to Kekana.
“No, this one of this body, which was found on the 7th, because we already engaged the pathologist. There are no injuries that were found, visible injuries, but we don’t leave anything (out),” he said.
“Hence, we include it so that we can do further investigation to check whether this one is not also linked to this type of incidences.”
Kekana said the woman had not been identified, while police forensic teams were working with pathologists from the Department of Health to establish her identity.
Police Probe Possible Links
The latest development has heightened public concern over whether the deaths could be connected, with fears of a possible serial killer operating in the area.
Police have, however, not confirmed that a serial killer is responsible for the deaths or that all seven cases are connected.
Police previously said preliminary investigations had revealed “concerning similarities” in the circumstances surrounding some of the deaths.
Some of the women were reportedly found half-naked and with visible bruising, while several of the locations were within the same general area.
The developments prompted police to warn women in and around Kempton Park, particularly the Rhodesfield area, to exercise extreme caution.
SAPS spokesperson Athlenda Mathe urged women who walk, exercise or jog in the area to do so in groups while investigators work to establish whether the cases are linked.
Dedicated Multidisciplinary Team
Acting National Commissioner of SAPS Lieutenant General Puleng Dimpane had directed the Gauteng Provincial Commissioner to establish a dedicated multidisciplinary task team to investigate the deaths and determine possible links.
The team includes detectives from specialised units, including the Murder and Robbery Unit and the Investigative Psychology Unit, and is being led by Gauteng Deputy Provincial Commissioner Maj.-Gen. Mbuso Khumalo.
Police have appealed to residents, motorists, security personnel and other members of the public who may have witnessed suspicious activity in the affected areas to provide information as the investigation continues.
