Mpumalanga DJ Shot and Killed for Switching Music Off on Christmas Eve

• The South African Police Service said a night of fun on Christmas Eve ended in bloodshed in Mpumalanga
• A patron allegedly took the life of a local DJ in Masoyi near White River for stopping the music at a tavern
• South Africans were worried that violence in taverns was increasing, as the shooting took place days after a massacre at a tavern in the West Rand

Tebogo Mokwena, Briefly News’ Deputy Head of the Current Affairs desk, South Africa, covered a range of criminal activities, including cash-in-transit heists, kidnappings, taxi violence, shootings, police investigations, police shootouts, and court cases at Daily Sun for over three years.

MASOYI, MPUMALANGA — A Mpumalanga DJ was shot and killed on Christmas Eve, 24 December 2025, at a tavern by a patron who then took his own life.

According to TimesLIVE, the incident happened at a tavern in Mganduzweni Trust in Masoyi before midnight. A DJ who had been entertaining the patrons stopped the music and said it was time for him to pack up and for the patrons to go home.

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Patron kills DJ

As is the case when many do not want the party to stop, patrons begged and insisted that the DJ continue playing music because Christmas was approaching. The DJ insisted that it was time to close. The patrons grew restless, and tension between them and the DJ developed. The tension turned deadly when one of the patrons produced a firearm and shot the DJ, killing him. He then turned the gun on himself. The South African Police Service opened a case of murder and an inquest docket. The firearm used in the shooting was not recovered.

A look at tavern shootings

A legal expert recently called on illegal taverns to be shut down to curb violence associated with them. The expert spoke as South Africa experienced numerous tavern shootings in 2025, in which scores of people were killed. The police launched a manhunt for gunmen after five people were killed in a tavern shooting in Tshwane on 18 July 2025. The suspects entered a tavern in the Shoba informal Settlement and opened fire.

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Five were killed, and six were wounded during a shooting at a Bronkhortspruit tavern east of Pretoria, Gauteng, on 5 October 2025. Gunmen allegedly opened fire inside the tavern in the early hours and escaped after allegedly robbing another patron of his gun. The police opened five cases of murder and six cases of attempted murder.

South Africans worried about tavern violence

Netizens commenting on Facebook expressed concern at the level of violence displayed in taverns in the country recently.

James Khakhadzi Phiri said:

"Taverns are slowly becoming slaughterhouses. We can argue as much as we can, but nothing good comes out of alcohol."

Lucky Sithole said:

"That's why I avoid taverns and stay at home."

Thato Molepo said:

"Alcohol is problematic in our country. Many lives are lost due to the freedom of drinking and treating alcohol as a way of life."

Nare Mokobane said:

"Too many trigger-happy people in SA who are not even fit to boil an egg have guns."

Lebogang Sledge Itumeleng said:

"I keep telling people that these holidays are not holy. They are unholy days for unholy people to gather at unholy places, binge-drinking and dancing to unholy music."

Gunmen kill 10 in Bekkersdal tavern shooting

In a related article, Briefly News reported that armed men killed 10 people in a tavern in Bekkersdal, West Rand, on 21 December 2025.

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Bekkersdal tavern death toll rises after victim dies in hospital

According to an eyewitness, a group of gunmen arrived at the tavern in a white Toyota Quantum and a silver sedan. They started shooting indiscriminately, injuring nine people, one of whom died from their wounds in the hospital.

Source: Briefly News