27 September 2026

The South African Communist Party (SACP) in Gauteng is saddened by the mass shooting reportedly carried out at about 21:30 on 26 September 2026 at Dora’s Tavern in Wedela, Carletonville,  Merafong Local Municipality.

According to reports, unidentified armed assailants opened fire on patrons outside a tavern in Wedela and continued the attack inside. Vehicles were set alight and patrons were robbed before the suspects fled. Gauteng Emergency Medical Services reported that 17 people died and 15 sustained gunshot wounds. The injured were taken to hospital. Some of those who died were reportedly Lesotho nationals.

We extend our condolences to the families and communities of those who tragically lost their lives during the attack, and wish the injured a full recovery. This senseless wanton crime should be treated as a direct attack on the entire working class in our province.

This attack underscores the need for a community safety strategy supported by policing, intelligence, Community Policing Forums and action against criminal networks. Safety must not depend on where people live or their economic circumstances.

A fuller response to crime must also confront the social and material conditions in which criminality takes root and reproduces itself. A class analysis of crime in Gauteng requires attention to unemployment, poverty, inequality, spatial marginalisation, weakened social infrastructure and the illicit economies that flourish where communities experience economic exclusion and limited opportunities. These conditions do not excuse criminal conduct or diminish individual responsibility, but they are part of the wider social context within which sustainable crime-prevention strategies must be developed. Effective responses must therefore combine capable law enforcement with social and economic interventions that address the material conditions that can enable criminality to persist.

We call on the South African Police Service and other law enforcement agencies to identify and arrest those responsible. Investigators should use all available CCTV footage, forensic and ballistic evidence, and witness accounts.

We also call for more visible policing and coordinated operations in communities affected by violent crime. Any deployment of the South African National Defence Force in support of policing must comply with the law and be coordinated with the police.

Law enforcement cannot secure communities on its own. Community Policing Forums and other community structures must be supported so that residents can help identify criminal activity and prevent violence.

Communities also have an important responsibility to work with law-enforcement agencies in preventing and combating crime. Criminal activity does not occur in a social vacuum: perpetrators often live within communities and may be known to relatives, neighbours, friends or other residents. Community members with credible information should therefore report it through lawful and appropriate channels and support legitimate community-safety structures. This must be done without vigilantism, collective punishment or unverified accusations, and with due regard for the safety of witnesses and the integrity of police investigations.

In keeping with the SACP’s aim of building people’s power where people live, we call on our structures to intensify the Know and Act in Your Neighbourhood campaign. SACP structures in the West Rand should also help ensure that the families of those who lost their lives  and the survivors of this senseless violence receive medical and psychosocial support.

We will monitor developments and call on the relevant authorities to act promptly and keep the community informed.

Issued by the South African Communist Party Gauteng

For further inquiries and information, please contact:

Nkosithethile Bonga - SACP Gauteng Provincial Spokesperson.

Phone: 0604028540

ISSUED BY THE SOUTH AFRICAN COMMUNIST PARTY,
FOUNDED IN 1921 AS THE COMMUNIST PARTY OF SOUTH AFRICA.
 
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