Deputy National Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Tebello Mosikili says police cannot accept the Democratic Alliance’s R500,000 reward offer for information about the deaths of women in Ekurhuleni, citing uncertainty about the party’s intentions and the need to keep police investigations separate from politics.
The DA announced the additional reward after the South African Police Service (SAPS) offered R400,000 for information that could assist investigators.
The two announcements had raised the prospect of a combined R900,000 reward. However, Mosikili’s response means the amounts cannot be presented as a single police-administered reward.
Police question DA’s involvement
Speaking on Thursday, 17 September, Mosikili said police did not know the intentions behind the party’s offer and did not want to become involved in political matters.
She emphasised that the investigation was a state responsibility and questioned how a political party’s reward would fit into the established police process.
Police also said they had not been consulted about the conditions attached to the DA’s offer. Mosikili explained that SAPS has a formal procedure for assessing information submitted by informants and determining whether a reward should be paid.
The R400,000 announced by Acting National Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Puleng Dimpane will continue to be administered through that process.
DA says its offer is intended to support investigations
The DA’s Ekurhuleni mayoral candidate, Khathutshelo Rasilingwane, announced the R500,000 offer as an additional incentive for people with information about the deaths to come forward.
The party says the money is intended to supplement law-enforcement efforts, not replace the police investigation.
Under the conditions set out in the DA’s statement, information must first be submitted to SAPS, with proof of that submission provided to the party. The DA says its reward is linked to a successful criminal prosecution.
The party maintains that its offer remains in place despite the concerns raised by police.
Nine women’s bodies discovered
The disagreement over the reward comes as police investigate the deaths of nine women whose bodies have been discovered across Ekurhuleni since July.
The ninth body was found in the Villa Lisa area of Dawn Park on Thursday, 17 September.
Police have not established that all nine deaths are connected. A multidisciplinary investigative team is examining the circumstances of each case and pursuing available leads.
The distinction between the two rewards is now important: SAPS has announced an official R400,000 reward, while the DA has separately offered R500,000 under its own conditions. There is currently no confirmed arrangement combining them into one payout.
