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List of serial killers in South Africa

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This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (March 2023)

A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more people, with the murders taking place over more than a month and including a significant period of time between them. However, South Africa uses a more lenient definition of serial murder, defining it as, "The unlawful killing of two or more victims by the same offender(s), in separate events."

Identified serial killers

Name Nickname / AKA Years active Proven victims Possible victims Status Notes Ref
Baninzi, Asande 2001 14 18 Sentenced to life imprisonment Together with accomplice Mthutuzeli Nombewu, robbed and murdered people in the Cape Flats area
Barber, Peter Roy The Laughing Killer 1973–1979 3 4 Executed in 1980 English immigrant who murdered his mistresses and a 12-year-old girl in Pinetown after arguments
Basson, Pierre The Insurance Killer, South Africa's First Recorded Serial Killer 1903–1906 9 9+ Committed suicide to avoid apprehension Murdered people in Claremont, Cape Town so he could get their life insurance
Brown, John Frank The Cross Dressing Killer(s) 1993–1995 5 5 Sentenced to life imprisonment Together with accomplice and lover Jacques Coetzee murdered other gay men around Johannesburg
Brandt, Brydon 1989–1997 4 5 Sentenced to life imprisonment Murdered prostitutes and his roommates in the Eastern Cape
Burger, Cornelius 1936–1937 5 5 Died in a psychiatric facility Murdered prostitutes as revenge for contracting a venereal disease
Coetzee, Jacques The Cross Dressing Killer(s) 1993–1995 5 5 Committed suicide in custody Together with accomplice and lover John Frank Brown murdered other gay men around Johannesburg
Duma, Sibusiso 2007 7 7 Sentenced to life imprisonment Killed various people around Pietermaritzburg during robberies
Kgabi, John Phuko The Ritual Killer 1974–1978 6 14 Executed in 1980 Former police officer who garroted and mutilated young girls in Atteridgeville and Limpopo
Lineveldt, Gamal The Cape Flats Murderer 1940 4 4 Executed in 1941 Responsible for the "Cape Flats Murders"; bludgeoned to death white women around the Cape Flats area
Maake, Cedric The Wemmer Pan Killer 1996–1997 27 27+ Sentenced to life imprisonment Serial rapist who murdered victims in the Wemmer Pan area
Mabhayi, Bulelani The Monster of Tholeni 2007–2012 20 20 Sentenced to life imprisonment House intruder who murdered women and children in the village of Tholeni
Majola, Simon The Bruma Lake Killer(s) 2000–2001 8 8+ Sentenced to life imprisonment Together with accomplice Themba Nkosi, known as "The Bruma Lake Killers"; robbed and drowned men in Bruma Lake
Makamu, Fanuel The Mpumalanga Serial Rapist 2000 6 6 Sentenced to life imprisonment Together with accomplice Henry Maile, robbed, raped and murdered women around Mpumalanga
Maketta, Jimmy The Jesus Killer 2005 16 16 Sentenced to life imprisonment Murdered farm labourers in Philippi
Makgae, Andries 2012–2013 3 4+ Sentenced to life imprisonment Raped and murdered women around Onderstepoort; suspected in best friend's murder
Makhubela, Dumisani Lotto Gangster(s) 2005 7 7 Sentenced to life imprisonment Together with accomplice Johannes van Rooyen, robbed, raped and murdered people around Mpumalanga, including a family of four
Mashiane, Johannes The Beast of Atteridgeville 1977–1989 13 13 Committed suicide to avoid apprehension Murdered his girlfriend; after release, raped and strangled 12 young boys around Atteridgeville
de Melker, Daisy South Africa's First Convicted Female Serial Killer 1923–1932 3 3 Executed in 1932 Poisoned two husbands and her son with strychnine for life insurance
Mfeka, Samuel Bongani The Kranskop Killer 1993–1996 6 6+ Sentenced to life imprisonment Raped and strangled women around KwaZulu-Natal
Mogale, Jack The West-End Killer 2008–2009 16 16 Sentenced to life imprisonment Kidnapped, raped and murdered women in southern Johannesburg
Msomi, Elifasi The Axe Killer 1953–1955 15 15 Executed in 1956 Murdered people while he was supposedly under the influence of a Tokoloshe
Mulaudzi, Mukosi Freddy The Limpopo Serial Killer 1990–2006 13 13 Sentenced to life imprisonment Murdered two people in 1990, then escaped from prison and resumed killing
Ncama, Nicholas Lungisa The East Cape Killer 1997 6 6 Sentenced to life imprisonment Raped and strangled women around Port Elizabeth
Ndlangamandla, Velaphi The Saloon Killer 1998 19 19 Sentenced to life imprisonment Robbed and murdered people during home invasions in Mpumalanga
Ndlovu, Rosemary 2012–2018 6 6 Sentenced to life imprisonment Former policewoman who murdered her ex-partner and relatives for life and funeral insurance policies
Ntsieni, Ndivhuwo The Univen serial killer 2014 5 5 Sentenced to life imprisonment Raped and murdered women and young girls in and around the University of Venda
Nyauza, Richard The Quarry Killer 2002–2006 18 19 Sentenced to life imprisonment Raped and murdered women after being infected with HIV, dumping their bodies in a quarry
Randitsheni, David The Modimolle Serial Killer 2004–2008 10 10 Committed suicide in prison Abducted, raped and murdered children in Modimolle
van Rooyen, Gert 1988–1989 6 6+ Committed suicide to avoid apprehension Pedophile who, together with accomplice and wife Joey Haarhoff, abducted, raped and murdered six teenage girls whose bodies have never been found
van Rooyen, Johannes Lotto Gangster(s) 2005 7 7 Sentenced to life imprisonment Together with accomplice Dumisani Makhubela, robbed, raped and murdered people around Mpumalanga, including a family of four
van Schoor, Louis The Apartheid Killer 1986–1989 9 39+ 20 years; released in the 2000s and died a free man in 2024 Former policeman and security guard who killed black South Africans during alleged crimes
Sedumedi, Khangayi The Century City Killer 2011–2015 4 6 Sentenced to life imprisonment Raped and murdered women around Century City and Kensington
Sidyno, Samuel The Capital Park Serial Killer 1998–1999 7 7 Sentenced to life imprisonment Strangled teenagers and women, then disposed of their bodies near the Pretoria Zoo
Sithole, Moses The ABC Killer 1994–1995 38 76 Sentenced to life imprisonment Raped and murdered women around Atteridgeville, Boksburg and Cleveland
Stander, Riaan 2001–2007 3 3 Sentenced to life imprisonment Murdered two prostitutes in Port Elizabeth after being released from prison for running over a woman with his car
Sukude, Themba The Newcastle Serial Killer 2004–2005 4 4 Sentenced to life imprisonment Attacked couples around parks, raping the female and bludgeoning the male to death with rocks. He later switched to solely targeting men
Taki, Thozamile The Sugarcane Killer 2007 13 13 Sentenced to life imprisonment Robbed and murdered women around KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape, dumping their bodies in sugarcane and tea plantations
Thwala, Sipho The Phoenix Strangler 1996–1997 16 16+ Sentenced to life imprisonment Raped and murdered women in sugarcane fields near Phoenix
Vilakazi, Themba The Railway Killer 2005 3 5 Sentenced to life imprisonment Murdered black males around Pretoria
Wilken, Stewart The Boetie Boer 1990–1997 10 10+ Sentenced to life imprisonment Raped and murdered prostitutes, young boys and his own daughter around Port Elizabeth
Williams, Tommy The City Serial Killer 1987–2008 3 3 Sentenced to life imprisonment Strangled three acquaintances in varying circumstances; South Africa's longest active serial offender
Xitavhudzi, Elias The Pangaman 1953–1959 16 16 Executed in 1960 Murdered and mutilated white women around Atteridgeville
Zikode, Christopher Mhlengwa The Donnybrook Serial Killer 1994–1995 18 18 Sentenced to life imprisonment Necrophiliac house intruder who murdered people around Donnybrook, then had sex with the female victims' corpses

Unidentified serial killers

Nickname Years active Proven victims Possible victims Region(s) where active Notes Ref
Cape Town Prostitute Killer 1992–1996 19 19 Western Cape Strangled prostitutes and domestic workers around Cape Town
Fosaville serial killer 1999–2003 13 13 KwaZulu-Natal Abducted, bound and strangled women around Newlands East
Sleepy Hollow Killer 1990s–2007 13 16+ Kwa-Zulu Natal (confirmed)
Free State, Eastern Cape (suspected) 		Raped and strangled women, mostly sex workers and prostitutes, using their own panties

Suspected serial killers

Name Years active Proven Victims Possible Victims Region(s) where active Status Notes Ref
Afzal Simons, Norman 1986–1994 1 22 Cape Town Sentenced to 35 years imprisonment in 1995 Raped and strangled young boys with pieces of their clothing, their hands bound behind their backs, their shoes removed and their faces pushed into the sand.

See also

References

  1. Ronald M. Holmes; Stephen T. Holmes (1998). Contemporary Perspectives on Serial Murder. SAGE Publications. p. 1. ISBN 0-7619-1421-8. Retrieved 15 June 2016. Serial murder is the killing of three or more people over a period of more than 30 days, with a significant cooling-off period between the murders The baseline number of three victims appears to be most common among those who are the academic authorities in the field. The time frame also appears to be an agreed-upon component of the definition.
  2. Burkhalter Chmelir 2003, p. 1.
  3. Smit, Sarah; Rupiah, Kiri (5 July 2019). "How to catch a serial killer – and why South Africa is good at it". Mail & Guardian. Archived from the original on 28 January 2022. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
  4. Wetsch, Elisabeth (2005). "Asande Baninzi". Serial Killer News. Archived from the original on 8 October 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
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Bibliography

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