South Africa: Suspected murderer waives bail

A man accused of killing 18 people in mass shootings at two separate homes on the same night in South Africa waived his bail request Tuesday and remains in custody.

Siphosoxolo Myekethe is charged with 18 counts of murder and unlawful possession of a firearm. He is accused of killing the victims with an AK-47 rifle. Prosecutors say Myekethe was on parole at the time of the shootings, having been convicted of murder in a separate case.

The shootings took place last month in a village on the rural outskirts of the town of Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape province. The victims were shot dead in two houses belonging to sisters in the same neighbourhood. The victims were 15 women, two men and a teenage boy. Many of them were from the same family.

Police said four people were killed in the first house and 13 in the second. The 18th victim died in hospital. A two-month-old baby survived the shooting. Prosecutors have not given a motive for the killings.

South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world. The country of 62 million people recorded more than 12,000 homicides in the first six months of this year, an average of about 70 a day, according to police statistics. Firearms are by far the leading cause of death in these homicides.

Although gun laws are relatively strict in South Africa, with proficiency checks, background checks and other regulations, authorities say the large number of illegal and unregistered weapons in circulation is a major problem.

Multiple murders make up only a small percentage of homicide cases, but they have been increasing in recent years, according to the South African Institute for Security Studies.