Africa, like any other continent, has had its share of serial killers. Due to a lack of forensic resources and modern investigative techniques, many of these cases went undocumented. However, those that were uncovered reveal disturbing patterns and chilling details.
Here’s a look at some of the most notorious African serial killers:
Notable Cases
- Moses Sithole (South Africa)
Moses Sithole, born on November 17, 1964, is a South African serial killer and rapist known for the ABC Murders. The name "ABC Murders" is due to the fact that the murders began in Atteridgeville, continued in Boksburg, and finished in Cleveland, a suburb of Johannesburg. Other sources claim the cities were in a different order: Cleveland, Boksburg, then Atteridgeville. Between July 16, 1994, and November 6, 1995, Sithole murdered at least 37 women and one toddler.
Sithole managed a shell organization, Youth Against Human Abuse, ostensibly devoted to eradicating child abuse. Sithole would entice his victims into vacant fields using false pretenses, raped and killed them, generally strangling them with their underwear. On December 5, 1997, Sithole was sentenced to 50 years' imprisonment for each of the 38 murders, twelve years' imprisonment for each of the 40 rapes, and five years' imprisonment for each of six robberies. Since his sentences run consecutively, his total effective sentence is 2,410 years.
Justice David Curlewis ordered that Sithole would be required to serve at least 930 years before being eligible for parole, making him eligible for parole at the age of 963. The judge also told Sithole that if capital punishment was still used, he would have been sentenced to death.
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Map of Johannesburg districts showing Atteridgeville, Boksburg, and Cleveland.
Showmax‘s The ABC Killer will look into the grim story of serial killer Moses Sithole, who was convicted of 38 murders, 40 rapes and six robberies, all committed in the space of just over a year, in broad daylight. The three-parter will go back 30 years - just months after Nelson Mandela had become South Africa’s first democratically elected president - to when rookie journalist Tamsen de Beer, working a night shift at The Star newspaper, received a life-changing call from a man who claimed to be South Africa’s most prolific serial killer. Through repeat conversations, the two developed a disturbing rapport.
“It was like a journey I was on with him,” says de Beer in the trailer. “We were bonded in a strange, ugly way. Sithole would target young Black women across Atteridgeville, Boksburg and Cleveland in Gauteng - the ‘ABC’ in his nickname. The doc comes from director Jasyn Howes, who is leading his second Showmax series in a row about a 1990s South African serial killer. Like Boetie Boer, the show uses extensive reenactments, mostly filmed in the real-world locations such as The Star‘s offices, Germiston Train Station, Pretoria High Court and the factory where Sithole was finally caught. Gifter Ngobenisen plays Sithole, with Louise van der Merwe as de Beer and Monte-Carlo Golden Nymph and SAFTA Best Actor nominee Graham Hopkins as Judge George Curlewis.
Contributions come from the likes of South African profiler Micki Pistorius, former detectives Ettiene ‘Vinyl’ Viljoen, Frans van Niekerk, Paul Nkomo and Derrick Nosworthy, who says, “This was the biggest case of our history at the time. Deputy national prosecutor George Baloyi revisits his case against Sithole, and attorneys Anthony Richards and Eben Jordaan discuss their defense of him, while survivor Buyiswa Swakhamisu relives the day of her attack and her own brave pursuit of justice.
“He was our Ted Bundy,” said Howes, who was a young boy in Johannesburg at the time of the crimes.
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Moses Sithole - The South African Serial Killer - The ABC Murderer - Biography Documentary Films
- Elias Xitavhudzi (South Africa)
Elias Xitavhudzi, active in the 1950s, was one of South Africa's first documented serial killers. A farmworker, he murdered at least nine white people in the area around present-day Limpopo province. He is believed to be a psychotic social activist killer because of the race of his victims.
- Maake (South Africa)
Maake was a serial rapist and killer from South Africa, popularly known as the Wemmer Pan Hammer Killer. He did not have any specific age group that he targeted, some he killed in their shops, on the road or in cars. His unique signature, however, was that he stole the victim’s shoes.
- Samuel Little
Samuel Little, 79, has confessed to killing 93 people, nearly all women, between 1970 and 2005. Although he avoided a murder conviction until 2014, he had numerous run-ins with law enforcement throughout the country over the years.
Little says he strangled his 93 victims between 1970 and 2005. Many of his victims’ deaths, however, were originally ruled overdoses or attributed to accidental or undetermined causes. Some bodies were never found.
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“For many years, Samuel Little believed he would not be caught because he thought no one was accounting for his victims,” said ViCAP Crime Analyst Christie Palazzolo. “Even though he is already in prison, the FBI believes it is important to seek justice for each victim-to close every case possible.”
The FBI is asking for the public’s help in matching the remaining unconfirmed confessions.
Map of Samuel Little's Confessions: Murder Locations and Victims.
Samuel Little’s Confessions
The FBI continues to work with the Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Texas Rangers, and dozens of state and local law enforcement agencies to search for cases that match Little’s confessions. The FBI is committed to identifying the additional victims in the remaining unsolved cases.
These incidents are either linked to victims who have not yet been identified (Jane Does) or to murders described by Samuel Little that have not been definitively corroborated by law enforcement (unmatched confessions).
| Location | Details |
|---|---|
| Kendall, Florida | Confession Matched to a Jane Doe: White female, possibly of Cuban descent, between 25-35 years old. Killed in 1971. Victim possibly called "Sarah” or “Donna.” |
| Fort Myers, Florida | Unmatched Confession: Black female killed in 1984. |
| Tampa Bay, Florida | Unmatched Confession: Black female killed in 1984. |
| Plant City, Florida | Unmatched Confession: Black female killed in 1977 or 1978. Met victim in Clearwater, Florida. |
| Savannah, Georgia | Unmatched Confession: Black female between 22-23 years old killed in 1974. |
| Savannah, Georgia | Unmatched Confession: Black female age 23 killed in 1984. |
| Atlanta, Georgia | Unmatched Confession: Black female between 35-40 years old killed in 1981. |
| Atlanta, Georgia | Unmatched Confession: Black female between 23-25 years old killed in 1984. Victim possibly a college student. |
| Macon, Georgia | Confession Matched to a Jane Doe: Black female between 30-40 years old killed in 1977. |
| Dade County, Georgia | Confession Matched to a Jane Doe: Black female between 25-30 years old killed in 1980 or 1981. Met the victim in Chattanooga, Tennessee. |
| Granite City, Illinois | Unmatched Confession: Black female, age 26, killed between 1976 and 1979. Met victim in St. Louis, Missouri. Victim possibly called "Jo." |
| East St. Louis, Illinois | Unmatched Confession: Black female killed between 1976 and 1979. Met victim in St. Louis, Missouri. |
| Covington, Kentucky | Unmatched Confession: White female killed in 1984. Met victim in Columbus, Ohio. |
| New Orleans, Louisiana | Confession Matched to a Jane Doe: White female between 33-44 years old. Killed in 1982. |
| New Orleans, Louisiana | Unmatched Confession: Black female between 30-40 years old killed in 1982. |
| Monroe, Louisiana | Unmatched Confession: Black female, age 24, killed between 1987 and the early 1990s. |
| Prince George’s County, Maryland | Confession Matched to a Jane Doe: White female between 20-25 years old killed in 1972. Victim possibly from Massachusetts. |
| Gulfport, Mississippi | Unmatched Confession: Black female, age 22, killed between 1980 and 1984. |
| Pascagoula, Mississippi | Confession Matched to a Jane Doe: Black female between 35-45 years old killed in 1977. Met the victim in Gulfport, Mississippi. Victim possibly from Pascagoula. Victim possibly worked at Ingalls Shipyard. |
| Las Vegas, Nevada | Unmatched Confession: Black female, age 40, killed in 1993. |
| Cincinnati, Ohio | Unmatched Confession: Black female killed in 1974. |
| Willoughby Hills, Ohio | Confession Matched to a Jane Doe: Black female between 20-35 years old killed around 1982. |
These are just a few examples of the serial killers who have operated in Africa. The lack of resources and documentation means that many more cases may never be known. However, the stories of these individuals serve as a reminder of the dark side of human nature and the importance of continued efforts to bring them to justice.
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