GAUTENG – The recent murders of eight women in the area of Kempton Park, Gauteng have led to mounting fears and hypervigilance among residents.

Police confirmed the lifeless bodies of eight women was recently discovered close to the R21 in the Kempton Park area. Although there are speculation that these horrific crimes are the works of a serial killer, police is yet to confirm these suspicions. To date a victim profile has also not been released.

NovaNews reached out to Jan Vermaak, who served for almost 12 years as the chairperson of Afriforum’s Kempton Park branch, after stepping down in August. Although the investigation is primarily done by the police Vermaak assured that Afriforum, a civil rights organisation, who has an established neighbourhood watch in the area will not sit back during this crises.

“Our policy is to always work hand in hand with law enforcement agencies in this regard. Especially now. They also take us into their confidence by not leaking information to us that is not necessary, but keeping us informed of the process.

“What makes us happy is that this is not being handled at a station level alone. It is being handled at a larger level. We are not sitting back when it comes to this [investigation]. We would rather be on their side to say ‘let’s see how we can solve the problem’, because it is not the police that is causing the problem. The police are understaffed and we all know it and they know it themselves, but we are just there to strengthen their hand.”

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Vermaak says one of the ways in which they are assisting the police is by assuring the community that something is being done.

“One of the reinforcements we are doing is to also talk to the community to say: ‘You need to calm down now because what is happening is not normal, but we have to also give the police a chance so they can do their job’.”

In July the first body was discovered followed by the second body in late August. This followed by the discovery of the third, fourth and fifth body separately on 10, 12 and 14 September. On Tuesday (15 September) police revealed the discovery of another three bodies.

Six of the bodies were found close to the R21, while the other two were found close to Tembisa Mall and KwaThema respectively.
According to Vermaak these killings have left the community on edge fearing that more women will fall victim. So far online one deceased, Elizabeth Moselakgomo, has been identified as the possible fourth victim.

“I think everyone is worried and I don’t think it’s just women who are worried, but men too. Yesterday I happened to hear a woman say everyone now thinks it is a man who did it. She said maybe it could have been a man, but one shouldn’t generalise to say it was a man’s work, because it could just as easily have been a woman. It’s quite promising to hear that coming from a woman’s mouth. I agree with her 100%. I’m not saying this because I’m a man, but I’m just echoing what the woman said. Don’t just think this is the work of a man. It could be a man and a woman, or it could just be women too.”

Police visibility within Kempton Park has also increased, with more vehicles roaming the area.

“It now gives us the chance to say if we can get so many [police vehicles] here just to come and solve this case, what are the police’s future plans with similar cases or other incidents that may occur? Should we wait until it reaches this level before we take more serious action or are the police going to change their modus operandi,” Vermaak questioned.

Patrols by the Afriforum Kempton Park Neighbourhood Watch continues together with their partners from neighbouring towns and their watches such as Benoni, Germiston and Boksburg. Vermaak says these patrols is part of their standard procedure and they do crime prevention patrols with the police even if there isn’t an incident.

“Our attention didn’t shift with what is currently happening. We think if we shift our attention now and only concentrate on that specific area where the bodies were found, then we actually give that criminal a kind of opening. We intensified by still partnering with our neighbouring neighbourhood watches. Instead of having a joint-patrol once a month we do visibility operations with our neighboring partners twice a month now.

“The other thing is if we put too many people in this area, it may hinder the work the police are doing. Helping the police means you don’t have to be with them all the time, because sometimes you can be in their way. So, we’re still keeping the amount of [visibility] that we have here, but it’s just more specific than the general visibility to address this problem.”

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In the meantime, Vermaak says these killings have put a lot of pressure on schools as well.

“Safety measures at the schools are also being tightened up a bit now, because girls in the schools can also be affected. Something is happening here. It is the murder of women, but it is not the only problem. The problem could be much bigger. And if so, if we just focus on what is happening now then we are looking through the eye of a needle. I can tell you that people are much more attentive too. People are now much more on their guard.”

Police confirmed one suspect is in custody for the murder committed in July. They have now put out a R400 000 reward for information that can lead to a breakthrough in these cases. A media briefing took place on Tuesday (15 September) with top police and government officials giving updates on the investigation.