Two people have been arrested in connection with the shooting of 10 people in eMbali township, about 15km from Pietermaritzburg, in the early hours of Friday morning, 21 April. Eight women and two males – including a 14-year-old boy – were killed.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Gunmen kill 10 people in ambush on family at Pietermaritzburg homestead

They are expected to appear in the Pietermaritzburg magistrate’s court on Monday morning.

A third suspect was shot and killed in a shootout later on Friday when police were attempting to apprehend the suspects at the home of a local inyanga (traditional healer). Sources close to the investigation say the assassins were undergoing a traditional cleansing ceremony after the massacre. 

Nobuhlali Memela, the family’s 64-year-old matriarch, was shot. The 14-year-old boy was apparently shot when he opened for the armed men who had knocked on the door, saying they were members of the police.

The killing, according to sources, is linked to witchcraft. Some members of the Memela family had been accused of practising witchcraft.

A source said the prelude to the Friday early morning shooting happened in November last year when Memela head, 68-year-old Patrick Memela, was shot and killed by unknown men.

eMbali is in the Plessislaer police station precinct, which is often ranked within the top three in police national statistics for violent crime and murder.

‘How do you know if someone is a witch?’

Many residents say mass shootings are becoming more regular in the area, with murderers becoming more brazen as they are seldom punished after committing crimes. 

Sipho Shabalala, one of the Memla family’s neighbours, said: “It is clear that the killers wanted to ensure that they killed everyone in the house. [This] happens when it is a revenge killing. When they say the motive behind the killing is witchcraft, I am not surprised. But how do you ascertain if someone is a witch?”

Ntombenhle Sithole, another neighbour, said shooting incidents were increasing in the area. She cited the Mntambo tavern shooting in nearby Sweetwaters in July 2022 in which four people were killed and 12 injured.

“Ever since the looting and stealing of weapons and ammunition, there have been many such mass shootings in all the townships, including here at eMbali. We are just not safe anymore,” she said.

The Sunday Times reported that less than 47,500 rounds of ammunition of the more than 1.2-million units looted from a Durban container depot during the July 2021 unrest have been recovered. Many of these weapons are in the hands of criminals and other crime syndicates.

Violation of human rights

The South African government was failing in its duty to protect its citizens against acts of violent crimes and killings, Amnesty International South Africa said in a statement on Friday, 21 April.

“Government continues to fail in its constitutional mandate to create a safe environment for all. The rights to life and security of the person – enshrined in the Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights – are violated daily and it must stop.

Locals near the spot where 10 people were shot dead in eMbali. (Photo: Supplied)

“The impunity with which killings are carried out is exacerbating the situation and urgent action is needed from the government, including the South African Police Service (SAPS), who have a duty to protect everyone who lives in this country.

“It is the SAPS’s responsibility to conduct thorough, efficient and transparent investigations into all killings, including this most recent mass murder, and ensure that the perpetrators are charged in accordance with the law. We can no longer allow horrendous crimes to continue with impunity, the justice system must begin to act as a deterrent,” Amnesty International added.

The 2021 Global Organized Crime Index ranks South Africa as one of the highest-ranking countries in Africa in terms of criminality levels. “Not a week goes by without an assassination,” the report says.

Read more in Daily Maverick: Hope for swift justice dashed as two suspects let off the hook after mass shooting in Ocean View

Neither Police Minister Bheki Cele’s spokesperson Lirandzu Themba nor the SAPS’ spokesperson Athlenda Mathe responded to requests for comment on Sunday.

An ANC delegation, led by Mzimkhulu Thebolla, Msunduzi mayor and the chair of the ANC in the Moses Mabhida region, visited the grieving Memela family at the weekend.

ANC regional spokesperson Njabulo Mtolo commended the community members who gave police information that led to the arrest of the suspected killers.

“Crime can never be defeated by law enforcement agencies on their own. The involvement of our communities in exposing criminals remains an essential component towards the building of a safer society,” he said.

“The rising crime statistics in the greater Edendale and eMbali township area have been a concern to the ANC in Moses Mabhida for quite some time now. It is evidently clear that Plessislaer police station is overwhelmed by the sheer quantity and severity of these crimes, having been named in the top three police stations with the most murder cases across the country for the past few years. 

Mtolo said the ANC was calling for a new and adequately equipped police station to be built, the deployment of specialised tactical units to fight crime in the area, as well as the strengthening and skilling of community policing forums and their members. 

“Our communities have a big role to play in the fight against crime. They are most affected by these crimes and therefore their contribution in crime fighting efforts is important,” he said.

Other political parties blame the ruling ANC for allowing crime, especially violent crime, to spiral out of control. DM