The end of September has been a grim stretch for South Africa. Three mass shootings killed 38 people in just a few days. A string of killings of women has pushed President Cyril Ramaphosa to admit the state has fallen short. Meanwhile, Pretoria’s relations with both Washington and Abuja are getting worse.
The violence began in Durban. Gunmen stormed a party at a private home and killed eleven people, one of them a pregnant woman. Police said some of the guests were already known to investigators. Two more attacks came almost at the same time at the end of the week. In Cape Town, ten people were shot dead and eleven wounded at a shisanyama, one of the barbecue restaurants that are popular in the townships. In Johannesburg, attackers carrying AK-47 rifles walked into a tavern and killed seventeen customers. Police say the attackers searched the victims and took their phones before driving off in two vehicles, which were later found burned out.
No motive has been given yet. Killings like these are often tied to gang wars and organised crime, especially around illegal gold mining by the so-called zama-zamas. The country records an average of about sixty murders a day, one of the highest rates in the world. Ramaphosa himself has called organised crime « the most immediate threat to our democracy ».
Women are also being targeted. Since July, at least eleven women have been found dead in Ekurhuleni, a sprawling metropolitan area east of Johannesburg. Daily Maverick puts the number at thirteen. The bodies were found around Kempton Park, Clayville, Tembisa and the R21 highway. Arrests have been made in four cases, and police have not confirmed that a serial killer is involved. With the country shaken, the president admitted that the government had failed. « Women should not have to live in fear because government has failed to repair a light, » he said.
He announced four measures. Police and the justice system have sixty days to review unsolved murders and other serious crimes. A funded plan must cut the backlog in forensic laboratories. Municipalities have to carry out safety audits to find broken streetlights and dangerous spaces. Finally, enforcement against unlicensed liquor outlets will be tightened. Not everyone is convinced. Amnesty International called the response « seven years too late », a reference to the 2019 murder of student Uyinene Mrwetyana, which had already sparked a national outcry. Several opposition parties also accuse the president of reacting too slowly.
On the diplomatic front, tensions with the United States are rising. This week, South Africa’s foreign ministry summoned US Ambassador Leo Brent Bozell III over what it called « undiplomatic conduct », without giving details. It is the third time he has been summoned since he took up his post in February. Relations have been strained for months by Donald Trump’s repeated claims that white South Africans are being persecuted. Two weeks ago, Washington imposed visa restrictions on some South Africans. Pretoria says it remains open to dialogue but will not compromise on its sovereignty.
Ties with Nigeria are fraying as well. On September 11, Nigeria’s National Assembly suspended official visits to South Africa indefinitely, in response to xenophobic violence against African nationals. Lawmakers said they were alarmed by reports of Nigerians being « killed, injured, displaced and forced to abandon their businesses » and property. Anger grew again when three Nigerians were killed between September 18 and 21, in Bloemfontein, Pretoria and Primrose. Nigerian figures put the number of Nigerians killed in South Africa since 2022 at more than one hundred.
South Africa is facing insecurity that affects its own citizens and foreigners alike, while it grows more isolated diplomatically. The coming weeks will show whether the president’s promises are enough to restore trust at home and abroad.