Phillipi East community left distraught after murder of eight people

FILE| Bullets shown on the above image.

The community of Phillipi East (on the Cape Flats) have been left distraught following the killing of eight people at Marikana Informal Settlement in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Six people were shot and killed in the area, another died while on the way to a medical facility.

The eighth victim succumbed to injuries at the hospital.

Related video| Eight people killed in mass shooting in Phillipi East: Dr Llewellyn MacMaste weighs in

Police have identified at least three assailants who are allegedly involved in the shooting.

The Community Police Forum (CPF) Chairperson, Zolani Lumkwana, says the issue of extortion is problematic in the area.

“We need to engage with illegal business owners here so that we tell them about the risk that they are putting their customers in because the time that this shooting took place the people should have at home already, but they were still at the shebeen. So, I think we need to engage them,” says Lumkwana.

WATCH | The chairperson of the community police forum in Phillipi East on the Cape Flats, Zolani Lumkwana, says extortion is a serious problem in the area. Ten people were killed in a shooting at a shebeen last night. pic.twitter.com/Zx7QcISXZh

— SABC News (@SABCNews) January 17, 2026