At least 27 people were killed in two separate mass shootings in South Africa over the weekend, police said. The attacks took place near Johannesburg and Cape Town, and no arrests had been made in either case when the report was published.
The incidents happened days after another shooting near Durban killed 11 people at a house party, adding to public concern in a country with a persistently high murder rate. Police have suggested possible motives in both latest attacks, but neither investigation had established a definitive explanation.
What happened near Johannesburg?
Seventeen people were killed on Saturday night at a tavern in Wedela township, about 50 miles south-west of central Johannesburg, according to South African police.
Police said eight suspects, reportedly armed with AK-47 rifles and pistols, opened fire on people inside and outside the tavern. At least 15 others were injured. The suspects allegedly searched some patrons and took their cellphones before fleeing in two unidentified vehicles. Two vehicles were set alight during the incident.
Gauteng police launched a manhunt for the unidentified suspects. No arrests had been made at the time of the report.
What might have led to the attack?
Police said one line of inquiry was that the shooting was connected to a conflict over illegal gold mining. Gauteng’s provincial police commissioner, Tommy Mthombeni, described it as a possible “turf war” involving illegal mining.
Police also said the attack could have been retaliation for another shooting at the same tavern about a month earlier. These were investigative theories, not confirmed findings.
Illegal miners, known locally as zama zamas, operate in abandoned or unauthorised mining areas and have been linked by authorities to powerful criminal groups. The source does not establish that the Wedela suspects were illegal miners or that this was definitively the motive.
What happened near Cape Town?
Ten people were killed at an entertainment venue selling grilled meat, known as a shisanyama, in Lwandle near Cape Town, police said. Eleven others were wounded.
Police said gunmen entered the venue at about 1:46 a.m. on Sunday and began shooting at customers. Five people died at the scene, while five others later died after being taken to medical facilities. The identities of the victims were to be released after their next of kin had been informed.
Western Cape police formed a serious-violent-crime investigation team and were searching for multiple suspects. No arrests had been made. A police official said business jealousy might have been involved, citing reports about customers buying cheaper alcohol elsewhere and bringing it to the venue. That possibility had not been confirmed.
How do the attacks fit into the wider picture?
South Africa has struggled with high levels of violent crime for years. The Guardian report cited United Nations data putting the country’s murder rate at almost 40 per 100,000 people in 2024, the ninth-highest rate worldwide that year. Police data showed that more than 22,700 people were murdered in the 12 months to June.
Mass shootings are only one part of that broader violence, but the concentration of several deadly attacks in a short period intensified public alarm. The two latest shootings followed an attack near Durban in which three gunmen killed 11 people, including a pregnant woman, at a house party.
What is still unknown?
- The identities and whereabouts of the suspects in both latest shootings.
- Whether the Johannesburg attack was definitively connected to illegal gold-mining groups or an earlier shooting at the tavern.
- The motive for the Cape Town-area attack.
- Whether the two latest shootings were connected to each other. Police described them as separate incidents.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said the violence “cannot go on like this” and called for the country’s security forces to intensify efforts against crime. His comments were made as a judicial inquiry, the Madlanga commission, examined allegations of corruption and criminality within the police.
Source
This explainer is based on information published by The Guardian.
