South Africa police hunt killers after 27 gunned down in two separate shootings

• South African police are searching for suspects after two shootings killed 27 people at a tavern near Johannesburg and an entertainment venue near Cape Town.
• Both attacks involved gunmen with automatic weapons; motives remain unclear and no arrests have been made.
• Gang violence and organised crime persist, influencing public concern ahead of November municipal elections amid rising femicide and recent mass shootings.

JOHANNESBURG/CAPE TOWN – The South African police were on Sept 27 hunting the perpetrators of two separate shootings that killed 27 people within hours of each other, in stark reminders of the country’s problem with gun violence.

The motives for the shootings near Johannesburg and Cape Town were unknown, but gang violence and organised crime remain rife in South Africa, despite government efforts to curb one of the highest per capita murder rates in the world.

In Wedela township, about 80km from Johannesburg, 17 people were killed and 15 injured at a tavern when suspects armed with AK-47 rifles opened fire at around 9.30pm on Sept 26, according to the police.

Many residents were reluctant to speak about the incident, but one said that illegal miners, known locally as zama zamas from an isiZulu expression for “taking a chance”, live in the area, where gold is mined and which experts say is a hot spot for gun crime.

No arrests yet

Soldiers from the national army and police pathologists had arrived in the township, where two burnt vehicles could be seen.

The tavern where the shooting took place had a sign that read “No weapons allowed” below its trading hours.

At the scene of the shooting in Lwandle, on the outskirts of Cape Town, onlookers had gathered behind police lines but did not want to speak to journalists, saying they feared for their safety.

In that incident, gunmen opened fire in a venue selling grilled meat around 2am local time on Sept 27, killing 10 people and injuring 11 more.

No arrests have been made yet and detectives are working to find the gunmen, the police said in statements.

“South Africa has a serious illegal firearms problem, and firearms are frequently used by organised criminal groups, as well as in gang-related and other violent crimes,” said crime expert Yusuf Abramjee.

Threat to democracy

“Every mass shooting should therefore trigger more than an investigation into the immediate perpetrators,” he told Reuters. “The authorities need to look at the wider networks behind the violence.”

Crime is expected to be a major issue for voters in municipal elections in November, when the African National Congress is facing further erosion of voter support.

“This cannot go on like this,” President Cyril Ramaphosa said of the incidents. “This is the level of criminality that we must bring down, and our security forces are now going to continue pulling out all stops,” he told local media channels.

A shooting at a house party near Durban last week killed 11 people, while a series of women’s bodies found near Johannesburg since July has renewed fear and anger over high rates of femicide. REUTERS