A 20-year-old man will face court on Monday after police swooped on his Philippi home in a pre-dawn raid.
- A 20-year-old will appear in court on Monday following his arrest in connection with the Philippi East shebeen massacre.
- Police raided the man’s Lower Cross Road home at 00:40 on Friday morning.
- He was found in possession of four cellular phones, which were seized as evidence.
A 20-year-old man will face court on Monday after police swooped on his Philippi home in a pre-dawn raid.
He was arrested in connection with the brutal shebeen massacre that left nine people dead in a hail of bullets.
He is scheduled to appear in the Mitchells Plain Magistrate’s Court on Monday, following his dramatic arrest during an early-morning police operation that saw officers storm his Lower Cross Road residence.
On Saturday, police spokesperson Constable Ndakhe Gwala said Operation Lockdown III members closed in on the man in the early hours of Friday, 20 February 2026, as investigators continue hunting those responsible for the bloodbath at Marikana informal settlement on 17 January.
The raid unfolded at 00:40, where Gwala said they found the 20-year-old in possession of four cellphones “which were confiscated and handed in as evidence”.
Gwala said:
The suspect was arrested and detained at Lentegeur police station.
The arrest marks the second major breakthrough in the investigation that has gripped the Western Cape, following the earlier arrest of 19-year-old Bheki Manxiwa late last month.
News24 previously reported that gunmen burst into the illegal drinking establishment and unleashed a barrage of gunfire, cutting down the female owner and eight other patrons in cold blood.
One victim survived the carnage, but was rushed to hospital with serious injuries.
It also emerged in the Athlone Magistrate’s Court, where Manxiwa made his first appearance, that he had confessed to the killings and that eyewitnesses had placed him at the scene.
READ | ‘Blood everywhere’: Philippi East residents fear for their lives after shebeen killings
At that time, the State revealed he was drinking with an individual named Lloyd, who allegedly handed him a firearm before he went on his deadly rampage, targeting the tavern owner and randomly shooting other patrons.
Manxiwa also robbed his victims, stealing cellphones and cash as they lay dying or wounded.
#sapsWC In the early hours of Friday 20 February 2026, Operation Lockdown III members closed in on one of the suspects involved in a mass shooting that claimed the lives of nine people in Marikana on 17 January 2026.
The members descended at the suspect’s home in Lower Cross… pic.twitter.com/7jgdgT8ea8
— SA Police Service 🇿🇦 (@SAPoliceService) February 21, 2026
The massacre exposed the danger of gang warfare, with Manxiwa allegedly linked to the 2Cs gang, who are locked in a violent turf war with rivals from Marcus Garvey over lucrative extortion rackets.
Manxiwa abandoned his bail bid and remains behind bars, with his case postponed until April.
The seizure of multiple phones during Friday’s raid comes as investigators piece together the full extent of the robbery spree that accompanied the mass killing.
