Mass Shooting Near Pretoria And Witness Assassination Raise Security Fears In South Africa (Worthy News Focus)

by Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent

PRETORIA (Worthy News) – South Africa’s authorities have released new details about a mass shooting that killed 12 people, including children, at an unlicensed bar near the administrative capital Pretoria.

The children killed were a 3-year-old boy, a 12-year-old boy, and a 16-year-old girl, police confirmed.

Investigators said the attack occurred inside an illegal bar operating within a hostel in the Saulsville township west of Pretoria, roughly 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the city center. Ten victims died at the scene, and two others died in the hospital, authorities said.

Saturday’s shootings, carried out by multiple suspects, have shocked a nation already known for having one of the world’s highest murder rates.

POLICE SEARCH FOR THREE SUSPECTS

Police said they were searching for three male suspects. “We are told that at least three unknown gunmen entered this hostel where a group of people were drinking and they started randomly shooting,” said South African Police Service (SAPS) National Spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe in an interview with the national broadcaster SABC.

She said the motive for the killings was not yet clear. The massacre happened at around 4:15 a.m., but police were only alerted at about 6:00 a.m.

Questions remain about why minors were present inside the bar at that hour.

With the investigation ongoing, forensic personnel were seen working at the scene where the victims’ bodies were recovered.

OVER DOZEN TREATED IN HOSPITAL

Another 13 people were wounded and were being treated in hospital.

Police did not release details about the ages or conditions of the injured.

SAPS National Commissioner General Fannie Masemola said investigators now have an idea of what may have led to the shooting in Saulsville.

However, the official noted that police were still gathering intelligence and analysing information provided by community sources and crime-intelligence units.

General Masemola visited the area on Monday following the tragedy, which left 12 people dead — including three minors — and at least 14 others wounded.

POLICE LAUNCHES NATIONWIDE MANHUNT

Of the 14 who survived, eight are members of the Khanyile family, which also lost the three children who were killed.

Police have launched a nationwide manhunt for the three suspects and are investigating the incident as 12 counts of murder and 14 counts of attempted murder.

Brigadier Mathe said additional victims may have been injured in the chaos.

Just hours before the tavern attack, Witness D at the Madlanga Commission, Marius “Vlam” Van der Merwe, was gunned down in a hit in Brakpan, a town in Gauteng Province’s East Rand region, about 35 kilometers (22 miles) east of Johannesburg and roughly 70 kilometers (43 miles) southeast of Pretoria.

The area frequently appears in South Africa’s crime data due to long-standing problems with gang activity, illegal mining networks, and high levels of violent crime across the broader East Rand corridor.

ASSASSINATION OF COMMISSION WITNESS

Security camera footage from Friday night shows Van der Merwe talking to the men believed to be behind the assassination moments before he was shot.

Soon after, co-chairs of the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS) met following Van der Merwe’s murder. The meeting, held at the NATJOINTS Operations Centre in Pretoria, agreed to enhance the Commission’s security operational plan.

The Madlanga Commission investigates organized crime networks — including cases involving explosions, targeted killings, and state corruption — and intensified security measures after receiving sensitive evidence and losing key witness Van der Merwe in the killing.

Brigadier Mathe said that while extensive measures have been in place to secure witnesses and officials since the start of the Commission, the meeting saw a need to heighten these protections by involving NATJOINTS and “all other relevant” security agencies.

EXPERTS WARN OF DEEPLY ROOTED CAUSES

The latest widely published killings added to disturbing statistics: South Africa recorded more than 26,000 homicides in 2024 — an average of more than 70 a day. Firearms remain the leading cause of death in homicides, reflecting persistent security challenges three decades after the end of apartheid.

Experts say the country’s exceptionally high levels of violence stem from a combination of deeply entrenched factors. Millions of illegal firearms circulate freely, often sourced from corrupt police armouries, criminal networks, or illegal mining operations, making gun-related killings alarmingly common, according to investigators.

Law enforcement capacity remains strained, with low conviction rates and slow forensic processes allowing violent offenders to operate with relative impunity, commentators say.

South Africa also faces strong organized-crime structures — including drug syndicates, extortion groups, gangs, and illegal mining networks — that frequently use shootings, assassinations, and even explosives to enforce control, officials stressed.

Deep economic inequality and persistently high youth unemployment further fuel criminal recruitment, particularly in densely populated townships shaped by apartheid-era spatial planning, where policing and infrastructure remain limited, observers noted.

POLITICAL CORRUPTION ALSO FACTOR

Political corruption and factional power struggles have also contributed to targeted killings, whistleblower intimidation, and attacks on witnesses, according to the Madlanga Commission.

Additionally, widespread alcohol abuse and the prevalence of unregulated bars, such as the illegal venue targeted in Saulsville.

These factors continue to create environments where violence escalates quickly and devastatingly, critics say.

Despite pledged reforms, the government has failed to reduce the deadly cycle of violent crime, data suggests, underscoring mounting security challenges confronting South Africa today.

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