Soweto Street Bash Turns Deadly: Mob Justice and Gang Violence Plague Year-End Party
Diepkloof, Soweto – A 19-year-old man was shot dead and three others were left injured after a night of violence marred the Shaun 101 street bash in Diepkloof Zone 5, Soweto, in the early hours of Thursday. The incident has sparked outrage and fear amongst residents, who say criminality amongst young boys in the township is escalating, and violent attacks at year-end street parties are becoming increasingly common.
Police spokesperson Col Dimakatso Nevhuhulwi confirmed that the motive behind the attack remains under investigation. "The circumstances surrounding the incident are unknown at this stage, and police will be investigating a case of murder and three counts of attempted murder," Nevhuhulwi said, urging the community to allow police to conduct their investigation.
The four victims were allegedly stripped naked and assaulted in what residents describe as a mob justice attack. Speculation on social media has linked the violence to a rape, but police have yet to confirm this.
According to residents, the violence erupted following a series of robberies as crowds dispersed from the popular street party.
Kamogelo Tshifhiwa Nndwammbi, a neighbour of the deceased, witnessed the horrific scene. "We were sitting there. It’s an event that everybody attends every December. So it was chaos, it happens that there are different groups of boys there in the hood," he said, describing the bash as "crawling with different groups of boys drinking, snatching phones, doing whatever".
Nndwammbi continued, "I wouldn’t regard my neighbour as an angel, but I would say he was also there for certain agendas. People wouldn’t want to brutally kill you like that for nothing." He added, "It was mob justice, but then there was an individual who went in with a gun and shot him dead on the spot. The guy who shot him is probably the driver of the taxi which the guys vandalised."
Nndwammbi lamented that violence at such gatherings was "becoming a fashion" in Soweto. "Seeing someone being shot dead right in front of me was devastating. I don’t want to lie; I can’t even recover from it. It’s a pandemic for us people of Soweto." He further explained that local gangs of young men, calling themselves "amapantsula", routinely terrorise parties and rob revellers.
Another resident, Katlego Moola, who also witnessed the attack, alleged that the four boys had been stealing phones when they targeted the wrong taxi. "I did witness what happened yesterday [Thursday]. What happened was these kids were going around, mugging people, so they happened to vandalise a wrong Quantum, and the owner shot them."
Moola confirmed that private, heavily armed security personnel were present at the event, but the violence unfolded as crowds dispersed. He also alleged a separate horrific incident. "There was also a girl who was raped by four boys and got stabbed on her thigh. The boys were taking turns on her. We found the girl crying; she was traumatised."
Moola, who runs a local podcast on YouTube called Ikasi Li Vukile, interviewing young men involved in gang activity, said many of them describe gang involvement as a "means of survival".
"They have homes, but they are notorious; their parents are tired of them. Even in their communities, they can’t chill there anymore. They need to rent shacks in another township, they need to pay rent, and others have kids," Moola explained. He warned that this was not the first time violence had erupted at street bashes, adding, "They even said they are going to target another event that’s coming up here in Diepkloof."
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