6 South African Serial Killers

Violent crime in South Africa remains a threat to citizens throughout the country. Murder, armed robbery, rape, and burglary are common crimes threatening the well-being of residents. This list names the worst of the worst of those criminals: serial killers.

Serial killers kill two or more people after at least a one-month cooling-off period between the murders. Most serial killers, including those listed below, commit rape, necrophilia, and other grotesque acts along with heinous murders.

1- Johannes Mashiane

Known as “The Beast of Atteridgeville,” Mashiane sodomized 13 and killed 12 boys by strangulation or stoning from 1982 - 1989. There is one survivor of the Mashiane attacks.

Mashiane had previously served five years in prison for killing his girlfriend in 1977. This time, he threw himself under a bus while eluding police, dying instantly.

2-Elias Xitavhudzi-Pangaman

During the 1950s, Elias Xitavhudzi-Pangaman, a Black man, murdered 16 white people with a machete in his strictly segregated Atteridgeville neighborhood.

In 1960, Panagaman was found guilty of all 16 murders and sentenced to death. His execution was quickly carried out in November of the same year.

3- Christopher Mhlengwa Zikode

Known as the Donnybrook Serial Killer, Zikode is responsible for the deaths of 18 people and the attempted murder of an additional 11 people from 1994 - 1995.

He forced his way into victim’s homes, killed the male members of the home, raped the females, and killed anyone who did not cooperate, later defiling the women’s bodies.

Zikode was sentenced to 140 years in prison for the crimes.

4- Cedric Maake

Called the Wemmer Pan Killer, Cedric Maake was an elusive killer who evaded capture because he constantly changed his M.O. He would murder some victims by shooting them in their vehicles; others he bludgeoned to death with rocks.

Maake was arrested in Gauteng in 1997 and later convicted of 26 attempted murders and 27 murders, 41 aggravated robberies, and 14 rapes.

A South African court sentenced Maake to 1,240 years in prison.

5- Moses Sithole

Called the ABC Killer, Sithole was convicted of 40 rapes, 38 murders, and six robberies. He is the most prolific of all South African serial killers.

The murders took place in Atteridgeville, Boksburg, and Cleveland regions, earning him the moniker, ABC Killer.

Sithole lured women to his home by staging elaborate job interviews. Once Sithole had the women in his grasp, he strangled them with their underwear and wrote the word “bitch” on their corpses.

Sithole is imprisoned at Mangaung Correctional Centre in Bloemfontein, Free State, South Africa serving a 2,410-year sentence.

6- David Randitsheni

David Randitsheni was convicted of 10 counts of murder, 17 counts rape, 1 count of insidious assault, and 18 counts of kidnapping in 2009.

The crimes took place in the town of Modimolle, Limpopo, South Africa, from 2004 - 2008. Randitsheni was arrested and sentenced to 16 life sentences and an additional 220 years in prison.

Randitsheni committed suicide by hanging in his cell shortly after the sentencing.

Now that you’ve read about six South African serial killers, get your true crime fix with our other articles. For more serial killer talk, check out Did 14-Year-Old Ted Bundy Kill 8-Year-Old Ann Marie? Many people suspect Bundy kidnapped and killed the girl, but he vehemently denied the allegations.

Allen Russell was sentenced to life in prison after police caught him with 4 grams of weed. Russell was convicted under Habitual offender laws. A judge affirmed his sentence in 2020.