News24 | Body of missing Kempton Park runner identified

Elizabeth ‘Tsontso’ Moselakgomo, 38, disappeared after leaving her Kempton Park home for her routine evening run on 9 September.

Supplied/Renegades Search & Rescue

• Elizabeth Moselakgomo, a 38-year-old Roseville runner missing since 9 September, has been found dead and identified by her family at the Germiston mortuary.
• The family is demanding a full police investigation and accountability for whoever is responsible for her death.
• Family spokesperson Dawn Gounden said women should not have to live in fear of where they go and thanked everyone who helped search for Moselakgomo.

The family of missing 38-year-old runner, Elizabeth Moselakgomo, has confirmed that the body found in the Kempton Park area on Saturday has been positively identified as the woman they affectionately called Tsontso.

Following an agonising period of uncertainty after she failed to return home on 9 September, her family went to the Germiston state mortuary on Monday, where they identified her body.

Moselakgomo disappeared after leaving her home in Roseville for her evening run and had not been seen since.

When her mother did not return, Moselakgomo’s young daughter alerted other family members, who reported her missing at the Kempton Park police station and began searching for her with the help of the South African Police Service and Renegade Search and Rescue.

READ | Is it Tsontso? Family prepares to identify body of missing Kempton Park runner

Moselakgomo was a runner who would sometimes join the company of others, but on that day, she jogged alone.

“She’s a frequent jogger, she’s a routine jogger; it’s something that she loved doing,” family spokesperson Dawn Gounden said.

Gounden told News24 that the place where the body was found was not too far from Moselakgomo’s home.

“It was a bushy area, not far away from the road,” Gounden said.

Gounden described the days since Moselakgomo’s disappearance as devastating for those who knew her.

“The past few days have been an emotional rollercoaster for us. We searched tirelessly for Elizabeth and circulated missing-person flyers in the hope that information would lead to her safe return,” Gounden said.

Moselakgomo leaves behind her minor child, family, and many friends.

“She touched the lives of many people who had the privilege of knowing her, and her loss has left a deep void in the lives of those who loved and cared for her,” Gounden said.

READ | Another woman’s body found in Ekurhuleni, after 4 others found in Kempton Park

Gounden added that while the identification brings the painful reality of knowing what happened to Moselakgomo, it also provides closure after days of uncertainty.

The family now hopes that the circumstances surrounding Moselakgomo’s death will be thoroughly investigated and that justice will prevail.

“We place our trust in the South African Police Service to conduct a comprehensive investigation and to ensure that those responsible, if criminality is established, are held accountable,” Gounden said.

Gounden said Moselakgomo was a Roseville resident who went for a jog and did not anticipate anything would happen to her.

“We shouldn’t be, as females, imprisoned or fearful of where to go,” Gounden said.

The family wished to thank everyone who had assisted with searches, shared Moselakgomo’s information, offered support and stood alongside them during this extremely difficult time.

“Elizabeth will be remembered, she will be mourned, and her family will continue to seek justice for her,” Gounden said.