News24 | Crack Gauteng police team arrests suspect in Tzaneen following 10th Ekurhuleni murder

Police arrested a suspect in connection with the murder of a woman in Tembisa, Gauteng on Saturday, as tensions in the region run high amid a spate of murders.

Yolanda Mdzeke/News24

• A man was arrested after the body of a woman, the 10th female victim found in Ekurhuleni in recent weeks, was discovered partially clothed outside Mooifontein Cemetery in Tembisa on Saturday.
• Police tracked down and apprehended the man in Tzaneen in Limpopo, though investigations continue into whether he is linked to the nine other women found dead across the district since July.
• The killings, mostly of women in their 20s and 30s found naked or partially clothed, have triggered a national outcry and a R400 000 reward for information. 

Police have apprehended a man for the killing of a woman whose body was discovered at Mooifontein Cemetery in Tembisa, Gauteng on Saturday morning.

The woman was the tenth female victim to be discovered in Ekurhuleni in the last few weeks.

The woman was found partially clothed outside the Mooifontein Cemetery in the Vusimuzi informal settlement on Saturday.

In a statement on Sunday morning, SAPS spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said the man was apprehended by police at around 23:00 on Saturday, after he fled to Tzaneen, Limpopo.

Acting SAPS national commissioner, Lieutenant General Puleng Dimpane, commended Gauteng police, specifically members of Crime Intelligence in the Ekurhuleni District, Tembisa South detectives, the Investigative Psychology Unit, experts from the Gauteng Local Criminal Record Centre, and members of Bolobedu Police Station, Limpopo for their coordinated efforts in tracing and apprehending the man.

READ | Tenth woman’s body found in Ekurhuleni, deepening grisly discovery trail

“I commend this multidisciplinary team for their swift response, coordination and determination, which resulted in the apprehension of the suspect on the same day. This is the kind of policing we expect from our members. We will continue to pursue perpetrators of murder and gender-based violence and femicide and ensure that they face the full might of the law,” Dimpane stated.

Mathe said investigations and tracing of perpetrators linked to the other women’s bodies found in Ekurhuleni are still under way, with police following all available leads.

Meanwhile, the spate of killings has sparked public fear and a national outcry over gender-based violence.

Police are investigating whether the deaths are connected.

Three bodies were initially found in July and August, followed by six more bodies over 10 days in September, across various townships in Ekurhuleni.

Most of the victims were women in their 20s and 30s, several of whom were found partially or completely unclothed, with signs of severe physical trauma or stabbing.

READ | Itumeleng Kekana’s family heartbroken as more women’s bodies discovered in Ekurhuleni

SAPS has offered a R400 000 reward for information leading to arrests in the matter.

On Monday, Fortunate Masilela, 31, and Tsakane Nester Msithini, 38, appeared in the Boksburg Magistrate’s Court on charges of premeditated murder and defeating the ends of justice in connection with the death of Jabulile Ntimba, the ninth victim, whose body was discovered at Dawn Park on 17 September.

They were remanded until their formal bail application on 1 October.

Police said that Ntimba’s murder may have stemmed from a possible love triangle.