Kempton Park mothers: Families of Elizabeth and Itumeleng seek answers

The families of Elizabeth “Tsontso” Moselakgomo, 38, and Itumeleng Kekana, 32, have spoken about the pain their deaths have left behind as police widen their investigation into eight women’s deaths across Ekurhuleni.

SAPS has publicly identified the two women among the cases under investigation. National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe also confirmed to The South African that Kekana forms part of the wider probe.

Both women leave behind young daughters.

Their families now want answers about what happened to them and who was responsible.

‘It will never be easy to accept’

Moselakgomo’s family positively identified her body at the Germiston mortuary on Monday after police found her dead in Rhodesfield.

Family spokesperson Andries Moraka Matlala said relatives were struggling to comprehend the violent circumstances of her death.

“It will never be easy to accept what we are going through now. It is painful,” he said.

Matlala described Moselakgomo as the person who held the family together.

He said she loved her relatives deeply and rarely missed family gatherings. Other relatives have similarly remembered the mother, runner and churchgoer as “the glue of the family”.

Elizabeth’s daughter raised the alarm

Moselakgomo disappeared after leaving her Rhodesfield home for a run.

Her eight-year-old daughter first realised something was wrong when her mother failed to return at her usual time.

The child alerted relatives, prompting the family to start searching for her.

Matlala praised the girl for acting quickly and said SAPS had arranged psychosocial support for her following her mother’s death.

The family also thanked police and members of the public who helped during the search.

Matlala said SAPS’s psychosocial team supported relatives when they went to identify Moselakgomo’s body.

“It was a very difficult moment for us as the family,” he said.

Family awaits answers from police

The family has also been waiting for police to complete the forensic process and provide an update on the investigation.

Matlala said on Tuesday that police had told relatives the investigation had reached an “advanced stage”.

The family was waiting for the post-mortem process before moving ahead with funeral arrangements.

An authorised fundraiser for Moselakgomo’s daughter and family had meanwhile raised more than R84 000 by Wednesday morning, exceeding its original R50 000 target.

Itumeleng disappeared in Kempton Park

Kekana’s family had already endured weeks of uncertainty before learning what happened to the 32-year-old mother.

Her family reported her missing at Kempton Park SAPS on 17 July.

Her brother and partner searched hospitals, clinics, mortuaries and police stations while trying to find her.

Police found her body in bushes near Great North Road in Pomona on 3 August. Kempton Park SAPS opened a murder case after officers found that she had suffered multiple stab wounds. Her boyfriend identified her at the scene.

‘As a family, we are deeply shattered’

According to a report, Kekana’s brother said shortly after police found her body that the family had desperately searched for her since she disappeared.

“As a family, we are deeply shattered,” he said.

He appealed to police to find those responsible for his sister’s death.

The family’s anguish deepened when SAPS later included Itumeleng’s death in the wider Ekurhuleni investigation.

Her brother, Themba Kekana, said that learning about the other women’s deaths had reopened the family’s wounds.

“We are shattered to learn that the murders on women are still continuing,” he said.

Family wants CCTV examined

Kekana’s family also wants detectives to examine CCTV footage from the area where police found her body.

Her partner had already asked investigators in August to check nearby cameras for evidence that could help identify those responsible. The family has since repeated that appeal.

Itumeleng left behind a 14-year-old daughter, who now lives with her grandparents.

Her brother said the teenager has struggled to process her mother’s death.

“This has broken the child. She is not OK at all,” he said.

Eight deaths now under investigation

SAPS is examining five cases in Kempton Park, two in Olifantsfontein and one in KwaThema.

Police have not established that all eight deaths are connected or that one perpetrator is responsible.