KwaMakhutha House of Blood: 11 executed, pregnant woman among the dead

Three gunmen massacre 11 including a pregnant woman at a party in KwaMakhutha on Tuesday night, leaving house blood-soaked and community terrified of deadly retribution

Eleven people, including a pregnant women, killed in KwaMakhutha on Tuesday night

By NOSIPHO SOSIBO and CHRIS MAKHAYE

KWAMAKHUTHA — The smell of blood was still in the yard on Wednesday morning when Premier Thami Ntuli walked in to the scene of one of bloodiest massacres.

He found women crying outside an RDP house in Ziko, a mattress soaked in blood dragged outside, and a community that has stopped asking why — and started asking who is next.

Eleven people are dead. A pregnant woman among them. Three others are in hospital fighting for life.

They were at a party inside the house on Tuesday night — 13 men and one woman — when three gunmen walked in just before 11pm and opened fire. No warning. No robbery. Just bullets.

Ten died on the spot, including the pregnant woman. Four were rushed to hospital, where one later succumbed to their injuries.

Utter Devastation

Premier Ntuli visited the scene on Wednesday morning alongside senior police management and local leaders. He was visibly shaken as he addressed the grieving crowd.

"This is barbaric. This is inhumane. We cannot allow our communities to be slaughtered like this," Ntuli said. "We have lost 11 lives, including a young woman carrying a life inside her. I have spoken to the families. They are devastated. Government will support them, and we have instructed police to find these killers. No stone must be left unturned. KwaMakhutha cannot be allowed to bleed like this again."

In response to the massacre, law enforcement has mobilized specialized units across the province. KZN police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda confirmed that top leadership had intervened immediately to track down the gunmen.

"Acting National Commissioner Lt-Gen Puleng Dimpane has ordered Provincial Commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi to launch a 72-hour manhunt strategy to assemble all specialized resources and track down the perpetrators," Netshiunda said.

KZN Premier Thami Ntuli was greeted by a scene of despair and fear when he arrived in KwaMakhutha

Rivalry and Fear

Police revealed that preliminary investigations suggest some of the victims were already on Crime Intelligence radar for suspected illegal activities, though officials declined to elaborate further. A feud between rival criminal groupings remains a primary line of investigation.

On the dusty street outside the crime scene, residents spoke in hushed tones.

One woman, who asked that her name be withheld for fear of retribution, said the attack was targeted.

"We know these boys. They were not innocent. But they did not deserve to die like dogs," she said, trembling. "We suspect this is about drugs and territory. These groups fight over who sells where in KwaMakhutha and Isipingo. If you sell on another man's corner, they come at night. We heard they had a fight last week in Umlazi. Now they came back and finished them. Even the pregnant woman — they did not spare her."

She added that fear has gripped the neighborhood.

"We keep quiet because if you talk, you are next. Police come and go. The killers stay here."

Township of two massacres

The last time KwaMakhutha saw this many bodies in a single house was under apartheid.

On 21 January 1987, masked security police and Inkatha paramilitary gunmen trained by SADF Military Intelligence under covert Operation Marion stormed the home of UDF activist Victor Ntuli in KwaMakhutha. Ntuli was not home. They sprayed the house with AK47s, killing 13 people, mostly women and children, including seven children.

It was a state-sponsored hit designed to ignite war between the ANC and IFP to preserve white minority rule.

In 1995, former apartheid Defence Minister General Magnus Malan and 19 others, including senior SADF generals and IFP leader MZ Khumalo, were charged with 13 counts of murder.

After a seven-month trial, Durban Supreme Court Judge Jan Hugo acquitted them all on 11 October 1996, ruling the prosecution case was fundamentally flawed after key witness Jabulani Ntshangase refused to testify. President Nelson Mandela asked the country to respect the verdict, but in KwaMakhutha, many still view it as unfinished justice. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) later granted amnesty to two IFP operatives for the killings.

Nearly 40 years later, the same wails have returned to the streets of KwaMakhutha.

Police have urged anyone with information regarding the shooting to contact Crime Stop on 08600 10111 or submit tips anonymously via the MySAPS app.TQ