Atteridgeville tavern massacre forces questions about moral collapse: 'What have we become?'

The execution-style killing of three children during a tavern massacre in Atteridgeville, west of Pretoria, has sparked renewed concern about South Africa’s deepening desensitisation to violence.

The attack unfolded in the early hours of Saturday morning when three gunmen stormed an illegal shebeen, opened fire on patrons, and then moved into a back room where children aged three, eight and 16 were asleep.

All three were shot at point-blank range.

In total, 12 people were killed, and 13 others remain in critical condition.

"This is one of those random shootings that we condemn completely. If you look at the place from outside, it looks good, but from the inside, I don't think it's a habitable place to stay," says Hannes Coetzee, the City of Tshwane’s MMC for Community Safety.

Nomcebo Dlamini of the Southern African Alcohol Policy Alliance described the killings as "a moment that forces the country to confront what we have become," questioning how society has grown so numb that children can be executed without provoking widespread outrage.

I definitely do call this a mess because I think we cannot call it anything else.

"What have we become as a society? Have we normalised these things to the point where we have come to a place where we are actually executing children?

"The other thing is, these illicit taverns seem just to be getting totally out of hand, and we need to help.

"We as a community need to also rise and be able to get on the bandwagon to deal with this problem."

While the City of Tshwane says it is tightening enforcement on illegal liquor outlets, the massacre has exposed a deeper societal issue: communities continue to support and frequent venues operating through the night in unsafe conditions, even when children sleep inside them.

To listen to Coetzee and Dlamini in conversation with 702’s Bongani Bingwa, click below: