By Priya Ranchod
Gauteng police have arrested a suspect on Sunday, 27 September 2026 in connection with the murder of a woman whose body was discovered at Mooifontein Cemetery in the Vusimusi Section of Tembisa on Saturday, 26 September 2026.
The deceased was identified as Ntombifuthu Nxumalo, whose body was found behind the cemetery, near the Vusimusi informal settlement.
Police said Nxumalo was found naked with serious head injuries. Stones were found around her body, raising the possibility that she may have been stoned. No visible stab wounds were observed at the scene.
The arrest came after investigators traced a suspect to Tembisa and established that he had travelled to Limpopo.
A multidisciplinary team comprising Crime Intelligence in the Ekurhuleni District, Tembisa South detectives and the Head Office Investigations Psychology Services travelled to Mohlabaneng Village in Limpopo, where they requested assistance from SAPS Bolobedu.
The suspect was found asleep in his room and was arrested.
According to preliminary investigations, Nxumalo had been drinking at a local tavern with a female acquaintance before leaving the premises in the company of an unidentified man.
Residents living near the cemetery reportedly told investigators that they heard a woman screaming and pleading for her life at approximately 23:00.
The Acting National Commissioner of SAPS, Lieutenant General Puleng Dimpane, commended the multidisciplinary team for the swift arrest.
“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 said.
The arrest followed the discovery of Nxumalo’s body, which came as Gauteng police were already investigating several cases involving women whose bodies had been found in Ekurhuleni.
Lenasia Times Group of Newspapers interviewed Gauteng Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General Tommy Mthombeni at the scene on Saturday, where he addressed concerns about the growing number of bodies discovered in the area and whether the cases could be linked.
Mthombeni said police had assembled a competent team to investigate the cases, with the work being monitored regularly.
He said the investigation included specialist resources such as investigative psychologists, who were assisting with victimology and analysing information that could help investigators understand the circumstances surrounding the cases and identify possible perpetrators.
Police have also announced a R400,000 reward for information that could assist in solving the cases.
Mthombeni said the response involved a broader government and law enforcement approach, with a joint operational centre established in Kempton Park to coordinate deployments and operations.
Additional resources had been brought in, while SAPS was working with other law enforcement agencies, non-governmental organisations, community structures and business crime prevention initiatives.
He also urged members of the public to report missing persons without delay.
“There is no waiting period to report in missing persons,” Mthombeni said.
He explained that people sometimes move between provinces in search of employment and may lose contact with their families, making it important for families to report concerns as soon as possible.
The provincial commissioner was also questioned about the possibility that the cases could be connected to one offender.
Mthombeni said police could not conclusively classify the cases as the work of a serial killer while investigations were continuing.
He referred to similar victimology, explaining that some victims appeared to have experienced similar circumstances. However, he stressed that investigators needed to establish specific links between individual cases before drawing conclusions.
“We cannot conclusively say there is a serial killer,” Mthombeni said, while adding that police could not rule out the possibility until the investigations had progressed further.
He also cautioned against comparing the current cases with notorious serial killer investigations from the past, saying those cases had already been investigated, suspects arrested and matters placed before court.
At the time of the interview, Mthombeni said the Mooifontein case was still at an initial stage and that investigators would establish whether it was connected to the other cases as the investigation progressed.
The latest arrest has provided an important breakthrough in the Mooifontein murder investigation.
Police have confirmed that investigations into other cases involving women whose bodies were found in Ekurhuleni are continuing, with detectives following all available leads to determine whether there are any links between the cases.
The investigation remains ongoing and the suspect is expected to face the appropriate legal process.
