By Bhekizenzo Zonele
Police have opened an inquest after the body of an unidentified woman was found wrapped in a duvet in a dam in Moroka, Soweto, on Sunday.
The body was discovered at about 5pm. Police estimated that the woman was in her twenties.
Her identity has not yet been confirmed and the circumstances surrounding her death remain unknown.
Police have not indicated that the Moroka case is linked to the deaths of nine women whose bodies have been discovered across Ekurhuleni over the past two months.
The latest discovery comes amid heightened concern over violence against women in Gauteng as police continue investigating the Ekurhuleni killings.
Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia said investigators had not conclusively established that a serial killer was responsible for the Ekurhuleni killings.
Police are continuing to investigate whether any of the cases are linked, with preliminary information indicating different methods and possible motives in some of the deaths.
On Monday morning, police said they had made a breakthrough in the murder of Jabulile Ntimba, who was found dead in Dawn Park last week. One man and two women were arrested by the Gauteng Murder and Robbery unit over the weekend, police said, and would appear in the Boksburg Magistrate’s Court on Monday.
A multidisciplinary team investigating the Ekurhuleni cases has also been strengthened and placed under senior national police leadership.
Lieutenant-General Hilda Senthumule, the Divisional Commissioner for Detective and Forensic Services and Acting Deputy National Commissioner for Crime Detection, is leading the investigation.
“She is being assisted by General Khumalo, head of crime intelligence, as well as General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi,” Cachalia said.
Police have appealed to anyone with information that could assist with the Moroka investigation to contact their nearest police station.
Information can also be reported to Crime Stop on 08600 10111 or anonymously through the MySAPS App.
The discovery of the woman’s body in Soweto came on the same day that 38-year-old Elizabeth “Tsontso” Moselakgomo was laid to rest in Mpumalanga.
Moselakgomo disappeared after going for a run in Rhodesfield, Kempton Park, and her badly bruised, partially clothed body was found in the area on 12 September. Her death is among the nine cases being investigated by police across Ekurhuleni.
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