Serial Killers Across Africa

In Africa, countries with publicized cases of serial killers include South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya. South Africa, in particular, is noted for having a high number of serial killers, with Moses Sithole being one of the most notorious. South Africa South Africa has documented more than 100 serial killer cases, among them are: Moses Sithole: The “ABC Killer” murdered at least 38 women and one child between 1994 and 1995. He lured his victims with job offers before raping and killing them.      Norman Afzal Simons: Known as the “Station Strangler,” Simons was convicted for the murder of a 10-year-old boy in 1995. He is suspected of killing many more young boys in the Cape Town area between 1986 and 1994.    Rosemary Ndlovu: A former police officer, Ndlovu was convicted in 2021 for the murders of six people between 2012 and 2018. She collected on life and funeral insurance policies taken out on her victims.  Lazarus Mazingane: “The Nasrec serial killer” murdered at least 16 people between 1995 and 1998 in the Gauteng province.  Cedric Maake: Also known as the “Wemmer Pan Killer,” Maake was convicted of 27 murders, along with multiple robberies and rapes, in 2000.        Stewart Wilken: Nicknamed “Boetie Boer,” he was active in the coastal city of Port Elizabeth from 1990 until his 1997 arrest. He was convicted of seven murders, primarily targeting female prostitutes and young boys.

South Africa ranks among the countries with the highest number of documented serial killers globally, with at least 117 cases recorded.      This may be due to better investigative resources compared to other African nations, but it highlights a grim reality. Other notorious figures include Elias Xitavhudzi, known as the “Pangaman” or “Machete Killer,” who murdered 16 white victims in the 1950s in Atteridgeville.    Daisy de Melker, South Africa’s first documented female serial killer, poisoned her son and two husbands in the early 1900s and was executed in 1932.    Jimmy Maketta, dubbed the “Jesus Killer,” was convicted of 16 murders and 19 rapes in 2007.  Sipho Thwala, known as the “Phoenix Strangler,” raped and strangled 19 women in sugar cane fields in the 1990s.  Pierre Basson, the country’s earliest documented serial killer, murdered nine people between 1903 and 1906.    Sibusiso Duma killed seven in 2007, and Asande Baninzi murdered 18 in three months in 2001.    These cases often involve varied motives, from financial gain to sexual violence, reflecting broader societal issues like inequality and post-apartheid trauma.   

Additional South African cases include Cameron Wilson, who raped and stabbed five people to death in Cape Town between 2014 and 2016, often burning the bodies afterward. He was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Nigeria Gracious David-West: In 2020, David-West was sentenced to death by hanging for the murder of nine women in Port Harcourt in 2019. He confessed to killing at least six others in other states.     

Nigeria has fewer publicly documented cases, but notable ones include Clifford Orji, a cannibal arrested in 1999 for kidnapping and selling human parts, regarded as the country’s first known cannibal.    Stephen Akinmurele, a Nigerian-English killer, murdered five elderly people in the UK between 1995 and 1998.  Wisdom Sunday Akpan, a robber and killer, was linked to multiple murders.  Ibrahim Ajayi was arrested in 2024 for murdering students.  Many cases may involve ritual killings or go unreported due to societal and investigative challenges.   

Additional Nigerian cases include Henry Chibueze, known as “The Vampire,” a cultist who, with his gang, kidnapped and murdered up to 200 people across the country between the 2010s and 2017, including entire families.

Kenya Collins Jumaisi Khalusha: In 2024, Khalusha was arrested in Nairobi following the discovery of nine dismembered bodies in a quarry. While police stated he confessed to killing 42 women, his lawyer claimed the confession was coerced. Khalusha later escaped custody, and authorities offered a reward for information leading to his re-arrest.                                As of October 2025, a Sh1 million reward has been offered for his capture, and he remains at large.       

Other Kenyan cases include Masten Wanjala, who killed at least 10 children in 2021 before being lynched after escaping custody.  Philip Onyancha confessed to 19 murders in 2010, often sucking victims’ blood.    Billy Kipkorir Chemirmir, a Kenyan in the US, was convicted of 22 murders in 2022.  Femicide remains a pressing issue, with over 500 cases from 2016 to 2023.

Additional Kenyan cases include Edward Shimoli, known as the “Kenyan Carlos the Jackal,” a career criminal who committed 14 murders, rapes, and bank robberies in Nairobi between the 1980s and 1999. He was gunned down by authorities in 2007.

Other notable cases Hadj Mohammed Mesfewi: One of Africa’s earliest documented serial killers, this Moroccan cobbler was said to have murdered at least 36 people in the early 20th century.          He was walled up alive as punishment in 1906.    Unidentified serial killers: Some cases remain unsolved, such as the Cape Town Strangler, who murdered 16 prostitutes and 3 domestic workers between 1992 and 1996, and the Fosaville serial killer, responsible for 13 murders in Newlands West, South Africa, between 1999 and 2003.

Expanding beyond the initial focus, other African countries have chilling histories. In Egypt, Ramadan Abdel Rehim Mansour (“al-Tourbini”) raped and murdered at least 32 children from 1999 to 2006, throwing them from trains.      Raya and Sakina, sisters in early 20th-century Alexandria, killed 17 women with accomplices for their jewelry.      Gaddafi Farag (“Safah El Giza”) murdered four from 2015 to 2017 to cover fraud.  In 2024, Karim Salim (“al-Tagamoa Serial Killer”) was preliminarily sentenced to death for murdering three sex workers.   

In Morocco, Abdelaâli Hadi killed nine children in Taroudant between 2004 and 2005.  Algeria’s records are sparse, but Dahou Saïd (“Boumahraz”) was the first documented, killing in Oran in the 1960s.    Ghana’s Charles Quansah was convicted of nine murders but suspected of 34 in the early 2000s.   

Algeria Madeleine Mouton, a French gendarme’s wife, poisoned 11 men in Sidi Bel Abbès between the 1940s and 1947, killing seven. She was the only woman guillotined in Algeria’s history and executed in 1948.

Angola Severino Tchivinda targeted mainly prostitutes in Menongue between 2015 and his arrest, luring them to his house and killing five to nine victims, decapitating and burying some under his home. He pretended to be insane upon arrest and was imprisoned.

Botswana Oreeditse Mokoti, the “Kanye Serial Killer,” lured four to six victims to his girlfriend’s house in Kanye between 2008 and his arrest, where he murdered them. Botswana’s first recorded serial killer, he committed suicide in prison.    Simba Mampori, a former Botswana Defence Forces soldier, murdered four women between 2022 and 2024 and is on death row.    Charles Nangube is another documented case, though details are limited.

Burkina Faso The Ouagadougou Axeman, active in the capital’s Boulmiougou district between 2008 and 2011, targeted night watchmen and sleeping people, smashing heads with rocks or mutilating with an axe, killing 10 to 15 or more. Possibly a gang; unsolved.

Cape Verde Zezinho Catana, a fishmonger, killed and dismembered at least four victims between the 1980s and 2013 in São Vicente, selling their meat in markets. Cape Verde’s first recorded serial killer, sentenced to 25 years.

Democratic Republic of the Congo Armel Bazonzama met victims at bus stops in Brazzaville between 2009 and 2010, luring them to isolated places and hugging them to death, killing eight and sexually abusing corpses. Sentenced to death.  William Unek, a Ugandan police constable, committed two mass murder sprees in the Belgian Congo (now DRC) in the mid-20th century, killing 57 in total before being killed by police in 1957.   

Egypt Additional cases include Saad Iskandar Abdel Masih, known as “The Butcher of Karmouz,” who murdered at least three victims between 1948 and 1951, stabbing and robbing them. Executed in 1953.   

Eritrea Eunice Brillhart, an English-American wife of a U.S. soldier stationed in Asmara, murdered three of her newborn daughters between 1952 and 1953, passing them off as accidents. Sentenced to life but released early, dying in 1958.

Eswatini David Thabo Simelane confessed to murdering 32 women and three babies between 1999 and 2001, luring them with job offers and harvesting body parts for ritual purposes. Convicted of 28 murders and sentenced to death in 2011.    Vusi Phineas Dlamini, a rapist, assaulted and murdered eight women near riverbanks between 2008 and 2009, mutilating some bodies. Currently hospitalized, trial postponed.

Gabon Yves Obinga Mouele, known as “Martial,” strangled six or more prostitutes in Libreville in the 2010s to 2019 due to uncontrollable sexual urges. Case under investigation.

Guinea-Bissau The Machete Killers, a gang, terrorized residents with three to five murders in the 2010s to 2018. One member confessed to five; awaiting trial.

Ivory Coast Drissa Coulibaly, a child kidnapper, abducted and beheaded up to 21 young boys in Abidjan in the 2010s. Arrested after an attempt; imprisoned.

Lesotho Lebohang Rantšo, a gang leader, murdered 15 or more victims, including entire families, burning villages in Lesotho and South Africa in the 2000s to 2010s. Fugitive.

Libya Michael Downs, the “Blackpool Serial Killer,” shot a taxi driver in Benghazi in 1963 while a soldier, then stabbed two elderly women in the UK. Sentenced to life.

Malawi The Dzaleka Serial Killers targeted victims in the Dzaleka refugee camp between 2017 and 2020. Three suspects detained, one at large; victim count unknown.

Mali Oumar Doumbia, a scammer, bashed five victims’ heads with rocks between 2016 and 2017 after luring them with visa promises. Imprisoned.

Morocco Additional cases include Abdelhak Toumi, the “Agadir Strangler,” who raped and strangled three sex workers in Agadir between 2005 and 2006, scattering body parts. Sentenced to life.

Mozambique An alleged serial killer was arrested in Katembe in 2024 for murders of women in Mandlakazi district.

Namibia The B1 Butcher, an unidentified killer, murdered and dismembered at least five women between 2005 and 2007 along the B1 road, dumping bodies in plastic bags. Unsolved.     

Rwanda The African Ripper strangled 15 or more sex workers in Kigali in 2012. Unsolved.

Sudan Mohammed Adam Omar, the “Sana’a Ripper,” murdered multiple victims.

Tanzania Sirieli Kaaya stabbed multiple victims with accomplices between 2009 and 2012, escaping prison multiple times before being gunned down.

Togo Olivier Attiogbe poisoned six victims, including family, between the 2010s and 2019 for land. Awaiting trial.

Tunisia Naceur Damergi, the “Slaughterer of Nabeul,” kidnapped, raped, and murdered 14 minors in the 1980s, including his ex-fiancée’s son. Executed in 1990, the last execution in Tunisia.        Kamel Lahouel, the “Sousse Serial Killer,” confessed to 14 murders across the country in 2003 but convicted of one. Sentenced to death.

Uganda Richard Arinaitwe strangled up to eight victims between the 1990s and 1998, confessing to seven. Sentenced reduced to 24 years.

Zambia Milton Sipalo, the “Lusaka Strangler,” raped and strangled 29 women in 1980, luring them from public places. Committed suicide in custody.

Zimbabwe Richard McGown, “Dr. Death,” a Scottish-Zimbabwean anaesthetist, was convicted of murder and suspected in more serial killings.  Bright Zhantali allegedly raped and killed 23 women, recently denied bail.  Angeline Mabhiza poisoned eight victims, including newborns, between 2012 and 2014.

Africa’s serial killer cases are underreported due to limited resources, cultural factors, and conflicts.      Recent trends show rising femicide and ritual killings, underscoring the need for better investigations.