Lesufi says criminals have declared war as women’s bodies pile up in Ekurhuleni

September 17, 2026 9

Gauteng Premier, Panyaza Lesufi, says criminals have declared war following the discovery of the body of a ninth woman in Dwan Park, Ekurhuleni, earlier today.

Police say the body of a woman believed to be 30-years-old was found with a stab wound and her throat slit. She was wrapped in a sheet and dumped on the side of the road, sending fresh shockwaves through the community.

The latest discovery comes as police continue with a major lockdown operation in the Kempton Park area, where officers have intensified searches and patrols following a string of gruesome killings.

Lesufi has also appealed to the public to give law enforcement time to conduct its investigation.

“Groundwork has been done so that no one has doubted that there are bodies, and there’s no work that’s been done because that will really be a defeatist approach. What we are saying is that the team is working around the clock, they are briefing us hourly, and they’re indicating the evidence that they have.”

“I’ve just been briefed now by the provincial commissioner, acting provincial commissioner, and I’m convinced. I mean they’ve cracked many big cases before, so I have no ground to doubt that they will break this case but we have to give them space; we have to have evidence; we have to deal with these issues that we have to. ”

Lesufi says criminals have declared war as women’s bodies pile up in Ekurhuleni Lindiwe Mpanza

Acting Gauteng Police Commissioner, Fred Kekana, says they are confident that, with the assistance and the information provided by the community, they will get to the bottom of these cases.

“We will resolve this matter and we will ensure that the criminals are brought to court and caution those criminals out there to say, hey, you are still free for now, you think you will not be known, you think your identity will not be exposed, watch the space, rather surrender, come confess and tell us why are you doing this.”

“For now, the investigation continues, we are hard at work and we’ll try all that we can with what we have, through the assistance and support of the community, we are going to unravel, we are going to unearth this syndicate or group of people.”

Residents say fear has become part of everyday life, with many women too afraid to walk alone as anxiety grips communities across Ekurhuleni.

Lesufi says criminals have declared war as women’s bodies pile up in Ekurhuleni Lindiwe Mpanza

Meanwhile, several members of civic organisations and political parties descended on the Kempton Park Police Station in Ekurhuleni, where they handed over a memorandum of demands to officials.

The protest comes in the wake of the discovery of a woman’s body on the side of the road in Dawn Park earlier on Thursday.

The latest discovery brings to nine the number of women whose bodies have been found in Kempton Park, Olifantsfontein and Kwa-Thema over the past two months.

Speaking to the public broadcaster, People Opposing Women Abuse’s, Jeanette Sera, says government must act swiftly in the manhunt for the perpetrator or perpetrators.

Lesufi says criminals have declared war as women’s bodies pile up in Ekurhuleni Lindiwe Mpanza

A woman’s body has been found in Dawn Park, Boksburg, South Africa, the ninth recovered across Ekurhuleni since July. Police believe it was dumped there.

Investigators have not established whether the deaths are connected. Police and city authorities have increased patrols in…

— Chemingoes (@Koecheruiyot) September 17, 2026

There’s a pattern forming.

All Ekhureleni.

Why Ekurhuleni ONLY.

That should be our question.

— cD (@cD9579716162488) September 17, 2026

What if the serial killer is a policeman or the syndicate works with them? Because how is this person still successfully dumping bodies in Ekurhuleni so easily & they do it in open spaces where people walk by a lot. But somehow police are never patrolling those areas. https://t.co/rIk5IahpUA

— Boo Hoo (@baby_gheli) September 17, 2026