South Africa’s high homicide toll has been underscored by a mass shooting near Durban and an unresolved series of killings of women in Ekurhuleni, with police yet to identify those responsible in either case.
Three gunmen opened fire on people attending a house party in KwaMakhutha township late on Tuesday, police said on Wednesday. The township lies about 30 kilometers south of Durban on the east coast.
Fourteen people inside the home were fired upon. Ten died at the scene, including a pregnant woman, and an 11th person was declared dead at a hospital. Three others were wounded.
Police said a feud between rival groupings could be a possible motive, though the reason for the attack remains unknown. Some of those at the house were known to police through investigations into criminal activity, authorities said. The identities and whereabouts of the gunmen have not been disclosed, and the brief gave no information on arrests connected to the shooting.
The attack took place in an impoverished neighbourhood known for drug dealing and problems involving illegal firearms. It was also the latest in a series of mass shootings in the country. In June, multiple attackers killed 12 people in a mass shooting in a poor neighborhood in Johannesburg. Two mass shootings two weeks apart in December killed 21 people.
Police crime statistics recorded 5,427 murders across South Africa between April and June 2026. The country’s homicide rate averages nearly 60 homicides a day, and shootings are the most common form of homicide.
The wider toll on women has also drawn an official response. The Human Rights Commission said 569 women were killed between April and June 2026, an average of six a day. Another 1,052 women faced attempted murder during the same period.
South Africa’s government declared gender-based violence a national disaster less than a year before September 2026. Minister of Social Development Nokuzola Sisisi Tolashe announced the declaration last November.
That declaration forms the backdrop to a separate investigation in Ekurhuleni, where nine bodies of murdered women have been found since July. Most of the victims were young women in their 20s or 30s. Nobody has been detained following the murders, according to the information provided.
President Cyril Ramaphosa pledged to leave 'no stone unturned' in investigating the crimes in Ekurhuleni. The available information does not identify the victims or set out details of the killings beyond their age range and gender.
The KwaMakhutha investigation now adds another large-scale shooting to a national picture in which firearm attacks account for the largest share of homicides. It also comes as authorities face pressure to establish who is responsible for the Ekurhuleni deaths and for the killing of women recorded in the latest official figures.
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