Not In My Name International (NIMNI) has called for an urgent and coordinated investigation into the disappearance of runner and mother Elizabeth Mokolo Moselakgomo, amid reports that several women’s bodies have been discovered in the area where she went missing.

Moselakgomo’s disappearance has sparked concern among her family, friends and members of the running community, who continue to hope for her safe return.

The organisation said it had joined South Africans in the search for Moselakgomo, describing her as a runner, mother, sister and daughter.

The organisation also raised concern over reports that the body of a woman had been discovered near the area where Moselakgomo disappeared.

However, it stressed that formal identification had not yet been completed.

“We urge the public and the media to exercise restraint and allow the family the dignity of receiving verified information from the relevant authorities,” NIMNI national spokesperson Boitumelo Thage said.

The organisation said it was particularly alarmed by reports that four women’s bodies had been discovered within the same vicinity over a period of about two months.

The organisation said the reported similarities warranted an urgent and thorough investigation to establish whether there was any connection between the cases.

The organisation welcomed the establishment of a multidisciplinary police task team to investigate the circumstances surrounding the disappearances and deaths.

It called on the team to move with speed and ensure transparency in its investigation.

Thage said the disappearance had affected more than just Moselakgomo’s immediate family, with the wider running community also anxiously awaiting answers.

“Elizabeth is not merely another missing-person statistic,” Thage said.

The organisation called on the South African Police Service to leave no stone unturned in establishing Moselakgomo’s whereabouts and confirming the identity of the body recovered in the area.

The organisation also wants investigators to determine whether the deaths reported in the vicinity are connected.

The calls come as concerns over the safety of women remain a major issue in South Africa, particularly in circumstances where women disappear while going about their daily activities.

The organization said women should not have to fear for their safety while exercising, walking home or moving through their own communities.

“Women cannot continue disappearing from streets, parks and communities while carrying the simple burden of trying to live ordinary lives. No woman should have to calculate whether exercising, walking home or moving through her own neighbourhood may cost her life,” Thage said.

NIMNI said Moselakgomo’s daughter, family, friends and fellow runners were enduring an agonising period of uncertainty as the search continued.

The organisation urged members of the public with credible information that could assist investigators to share it with the relevant authorities.

It also reiterated its call for verified information to be communicated to the family before details about the identity of the recovered body are treated as confirmed.

The investigation is expected to establish the circumstances surrounding Moselakgomo’s disappearance and whether there is any link between her case and other reported deaths in the area.

The reported pattern has also raised concerns about the possibility of a suspected serial killer operating in the area, although no such link has been confirmed by police.

NIMNI said investigators should urgently establish whether the cases are connected and determine whether a single perpetrator could be responsible.