South Africa: 'We Are Scared As Women,' Say Kempton Park Residents After Fifth Body Is Found

What the report says

Residents in and around Kempton Park, South Africa, are voicing alarm after another woman’s body was discovered in the area, adding to a string of similar deaths under police investigation. According to Daily Maverick, five women have been found dead in Kempton Park and nearby locations since July, including three bodies in the broader area in the previous week. The pattern has raised fears among local people that the cases could be connected, although police have urged caution about speculating that a serial killer is involved.

The report identifies one of the victims as 38-year-old Elizabeth Moselakgomo of Rhodesfield, Kempton Park. Family members said she was well known as the person who held the family together. Her body was found behind a hotel in Rhodesfield on 12 September, after she failed to return from a run on 9 September. Her remains were later identified at the Germiston Mortuary on 14 September.

Police also responded to a separate discovery on Monday morning, when a passerby found an unidentified woman on Porcelain Avenue in Olifantsfontein. She was reportedly partially naked and bruised, and investigators believe she may have been dumped there. The investigation is continuing, and the series of deaths has heightened fear among women in the community.

More broadly, the case reflects wider public concern in South Africa about violence against women and the urgency of police work when multiple deaths appear to share similarities.