Gauteng police have arrested five suspects in connection with the murder of two women whose bodies were found near Orange Farm, south of Johannesburg.
The two missing women were found dead at a plot in Poortjie on Thursday, 8 January 2026.
Arrest
Police spokesperson Colonel Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi said the group were handcuffed for hijacking, kidnapping and murder.
“The provincial commissioner of the police in Gauteng, Lieutenant General Tommy Mthombeni, has welcomed the arrest of the five suspects.
“The victims were reported missing on 31 December 2025, and after a ransom demand was made to one of the victims’ mothers, the charge was changed to hijacking and kidnapping. Resources were mobilised to trace and rescue the victims, and on 8 January 2026, their partially decomposed bodies were discovered in an open veld at Poortjie,” Nevhuhulwi said.
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Intelligence
Nevhuhulwi said a team of investigators traced and arrested five suspects using intelligence information on Tuesday, 13 January 2026.
She said officers recovered an unlicensed firearm.
“Four of the suspects were arrested in Evaton, while the fifth one was arrested in Germiston. A preliminary investigation led the team to Brits, where they discovered the victims’ vehicle abandoned at a car wash.
“The vehicle was fixed with false number plates but had the correct disc. The firearm will be subjected to ballistic testing to determine whether it was used in the commission of a crime,” Nevhuhulwi said.
Nevhuhulwi said all five suspects are expected to appear before the Vereeniging Magistrates’ Court on 15 January 2026.
Festive arrests
Meanwhile, barely two weeks into 2026, police have already taken nearly 19 000 suspects into custody for crimes committed across the country during nationwide operations.
Just this past week, 5 to 11 January 2026, police arrested 18 970 suspects for various charges, including murder, attempted murder, armed robbery, rape, assault, burglary, drug trafficking, and more.
Police spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Amanda van Wyk said another 2 247 wanted suspects were arrested for serious crimes, including murder, rape, sexual assault, robberies, car hijackings and many other serious crimes.
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