Gunmen attack South Africa house party, killing 11, including woman believed to be pregnant
By Nimi Princewill, CNN
(CNN) — Eleven people, including a woman believed to be pregnant, were killed when gunmen opened fire at a house south of the South African city of Durban, police said Wednesday.
Three gunmen entered the house in the Ziko area of KwaMakhutha on Tuesday night and shot the group as they were having a party, according to police. Ten people died at the scene and another died after being taken to hospital. Three others were wounded.
Police have launched a manhunt for the attackers. Acting National Police Commissioner Puleng Dimpane said investigators were following a “promising lead.”
The motive is not yet known. Police said some of the victims had previously come to the attention of Crime Intelligence over alleged illegal activities, but did not give further details. They said a feud between rival groups could not be ruled out.
South Africa has seen several other deadly mass shootings in recent years. In June, 12 people were killed in an informal settlement in a Johannesburg suburb. Six months earlier, nine people were killed when gunmen opened fire at a tavern outside Johannesburg.
In another attack, in KwaZulu-Natal in 2023, 10 members of one family, including a 13-year-old boy, were shot dead at their home.
The shootings come amid a much wider problem with violent crime. The latest official police figures show that an average of 58 people were murdered each day in South Africa between January and March.
The violence has also left women particularly fearful. In recent weeks, the discovery of the bodies of 10 women in parts of Johannesburg, the country’s largest city, has caused widespread alarm. Several of the bodies were found near roads or in open areas, and police are investigating whether some of the deaths are connected.
Beyond these killings, South Africa is battling powerful criminal networks involved in drugs, extortion, illegal mining and gang violence. The 2025 Africa Organized Crime Index says cocaine from South America passes through the country on its way to other parts of the world.
Organized crime has also become an issue within the country’s police leadership. Police minister Senzo Mchunu was placed on leave last year after accusations that he had links to a criminal syndicate and interfered with police investigations. He has denied the allegations.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said in February that organized crime was “the most immediate threat to our democracy, our society and our economic development.”
Ramaphosa announced that soldiers would be deployed to support police in tackling gang violence, as the government steps up its fight against criminal syndicates.
The-CNN-Wire
™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.
