Twelve women have been killed or found dead across Ekurhuleni since July, while police continue to hunt for answers in nine outstanding cases.
Three women still have no names.
Police have resolved three cases and identified persons of interest in three Kempton Park investigations.
As detectives work to crack the remaining cases, South Africans will gather in Alberton on Sunday to remember women killed through gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF).
The ANC Women’s League will lead a National Prayer and Memorial Service at the Alberton Civic Centre from 10:00.
Police probe 12 Ekurhuleni murders
Gauteng Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Tommy Mthombeni confirmed that police are investigating 12 cases involving women killed or found dead across Ekurhuleni.
Police have solved three.
Investigators have also identified persons of interest in three Kempton Park cases.
Three women remain unidentified.
Police have deployed specialist detectives, forensic experts and an investigative psychologist to help solve the outstanding cases.
A R400 000 reward remains on offer for information that leads investigators to those responsible.
Police have not linked all 12 cases
The killings stretch across several parts of Ekurhuleni, including Kempton Park, Clayville, Olifantsfontein, KwaThema, Dawn Park and Thembisa.
Police found some of the women in open spaces. Others were discovered near roads, waterways and a cemetery.
But investigators have not established that one person or group killed all 12 women.
Police continue to investigate the cases individually while forensic teams look for possible links.
Mthombeni has urged communities to give police information that could help investigators make breakthroughs.
Three women still unidentified
While detectives pursue suspects, three of the women still have no names.
Police are using forensic evidence and other investigative methods to identify them.
The unidentified women form part of the nine cases police have yet to resolve.
One of the cases police have made progress in involves Ntombifuthi Nxumalo.
Police found her body at Mooifontein Cemetery in Thembisa on 26 September.
She suffered severe head injuries.
Detectives tracked a 36-year-old suspect to Limpopo and arrested him in connection with her murder.
He later appeared in the Tembisa Magistrate’s Court.
Boitumelo Mashita among latest cases
The latest cases include the murder of 23-year-old Boitumelo Gift Mashita.
A gunman shot Mashita while she walked to work in Temong, Thembisa, on 28 September.
Police identified her estranged husband as a person of interest and started searching for him.
Hours later, police found him dead inside his vehicle in Midrand.
Police opened an inquest into his death.
Importantly, investigators have not linked Mashita’s murder to the other Ekurhuleni cases.
Ekurhuleni communities demand answers
The mounting death toll has triggered anger across the metro.
Residents, churches, NGOs, students and bikers marched from the Kempton Park Civic Centre to the police station on Saturday.
They demanded justice for the women and increased police visibility.
The march followed weeks of concern as police recovered women’s bodies across the metro.
National GBV memorial held TODAY
On Sunday, attention shifts to Alberton.
Faith-based organisations, political parties and civil society groups are expected to attend.
ANCWL secretary-general Nokuthula Nqaba said the service would honour women killed through GBV and femicide and bring communities together against violence targeting women and children.
The organisation said the gathering also responds to the recent killings in Ekurhuleni.
Nine cases remain unresolved. Three women remain unidentified. And investigators are still searching for answers.
