Eleven suspects arrested over deadly South African tavern shooting

Police said the suspects arrested were found with unlicensed firearms, including four handguns and an AK-47 rifle.Published On 25 Dec 2025Police in South Africa say they have arrested 11 people, including many suspected of being undocumented miners, in connection with Sunday’s shooting at a tavern that killed 10 people.Nine citizens of Lesotho and one Mozambican were among those arrested on Wednesday after police and security stormed two houses outside Johannesburg.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Manhunt under way after nine people killed in South Africa shootinglist 2 of 3South Africa shooting leaves 12 dead, including young child: Policelist 3 of 3South Africa to deport Kenyans involved in US-Afrikaner refugee schemeend of listTen others were wounded in Sunday’s shooting in which about a dozen gunmen in a minibus and a car targeted a tavern in the township of Bekkersdal. There have been several mass shootings at bars – sometimes called shebeens or taverns in South Africa – in recent years.Police said the suspects arrested were found with unlicensed firearms, including four handguns and an AK-47 rifle.Fred Kekana, acting provincial commissioner of Gauteng, told reporters that police had found cartridges and live ammunition of the “same type” of firearms at the shooting scene in Bekkersdal. They were sent for testing to determine if they were used in the shooting.Authorities also arrested a South African mine employee who faces charges related to harbouring undocumented tenants and obstructing justice.On Tuesday, the pub’s owner, Nonesi Matwa, was charged with fraud and operating an illegal liquor outlet, according to local media.The owner’s family told the media that Matwa was being unfairly targeted.They said that she was not responsible for the violence, stating she was not the one who “pulled the trigger and killed the patrons”.Surrounded by abandoned mine shafts, townships west of Johannesburg, like Bekkersdal, are notorious for illicit mining operations, which have led to problems including gang violence and the proliferation of illegal firearms.