Kempton Park killings | R500,000 reward offered for arrest of suspects - IOL

A R500,000 reward from the DA has put renewed focus on the investigation into the deaths of eight women in Ekurhuleni, as PMC’s Curt Van Heerden questioned alleged police conduct and Acting National Police Commissioner Puleng Dimpane outlined the investigation.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has put R500,000 on the table for information leading to the successful arrest of those responsible for the deaths of eight women in Ekurhuleni.

DA Ekurhuleni mayoral candidate Khathutshelo Rasilingwane made the announcement outside Kempton Park Police Station on Wednesday, where demonstrators gathered with placards reading “Am I Next?” and “We demand justice”.

“I want to speak directly to the women of Ekurhuleni, those who are frightened, feeling scared and those who are afraid for their lives. This is a matter of great concern,” Rasilingwane said.

“Women are not safe in SA. Women are not safe in Ekurhuleni. As we have been saying, this city is a crime scene. I stand here as the DA mayoral candidate to say I don't accept this and I will not be quiet. You too do not have to accept this as a resident,” she said.

Rasilingwane said the killings required sustained attention rather than occasional campaigns.

“Eight people have been murdered in the past weeks, but hundreds have been murdered across the country.

“This is not something that 16 Days of Activism or an occasional march that you can put on social media just for this particular time. It is a matter of life and death, and this is something that calls us together as a community and country,” she said.

She also called on residents to assist investigators in identifying those responsible.

“We need the community at large to work together with us so that we can catch these criminals and ensure that they are brought to book behind bars,” Rasilingwane said.

“The DA stands here to announce significant support to the investigation. We are offering R500,000 as a reward for information that will lead to the successful arrest of these individuals who are behind the killings of the eight women. This reward should encourage whoever has information to come forward immediately,” she said.

People’s Movement for Change (PMC) Deputy President Curt Van Heerden also went to the police station recently, where he questioned the conduct of police members allegedly involved in dealing with a member of the public seeking answers.

“This is a valid question I’m also asking myself the very same question! I think the Station Commander of this Kempton Park Police Station has to account,” Van Heerden said.

He alleged that members of the charge office had acted unprofessionally.

“Those members in the Charge Office lack professionalism. There is no need to laugh at this guy for asking questions. He’s got the right to ask questions and get answers,” he said.

“They were supposed to take his questions seriously and tell him they would refer his complaints to the Station Commander and the Detective Commander!

“Laughing at the people for wanting to get answers is the highest level of disrespect, stupidity and ignorance,” Van Heerden said.

Acting National Police Commissioner Puleng Dimpane said police had deployed intelligence resources to assist the investigation.

“We do have crime intelligence on the ground, provincial crime intelligence, as well as economic crime intelligence. Subsequently, I also instructed the head of intelligence at national level to guide this particular team,” Dimpane said.

She said police had made one arrest in connection with a case reported in July and were pursuing another person.

“You will note that there is a case that was reported in July. We successfully investigated that case and there is a person behind bars in terms of that. So, we have one arrest currently. We also have one person that we are pursuing,” she said.

Dimpane also appealed to families to come forward if they had relatives who could not account for their whereabouts.

“There are unknown victims and we are calling upon families in particular around this area to come forward if they know of any family member who cannot account for their whereabouts,” she said.

“The sooner we identify these victims, the quicker it will assist us to follow specific leads as well as to crack these particular cases,” Dimpane said.

Police have not confirmed that all eight deaths are connected or that they were committed by a single perpetrator, but investigations into possible links between the cases are continuing.

*This article corrects an earlier version which erroneously stated the reward being offered was over R500,000.