Twenty-seven people have been killed and 26 others injured after two separate mass shootings took place hours apart in South Africa over the weekend.

The first attack happened on Saturday evening close to Johannesburg, where eight gunmen stormed a bar. The attackers opened fire on patrons standing outside before moving inside to continue shooting. Seventeen people were killed — thirteen men and four women — while a further 15 people were injured. Before fleeing the scene, the gunmen torched two vehicles.

Hours later, during the early hours of Sunday morning, a second mass shooting unfolded outside an entertainment venue in a township near Cape Town. Ten people lost their lives in that attack, with five victims dying at the scene and another five dying in hospital. Eleven others were wounded.

Gauteng Police Commissioner Lt Gen Tommy Mthombeni said that while victims from Ethiopia and Lesotho were caught up in the Johannesburg shooting, the vast majority of those killed were South African. He noted that investigators believe robbery may have been the motive, as personal belongings were stolen from victims, but added that police cannot rule out turf wars between rival illegal mining groups.

Illegal mining in abandoned shafts and dump sites is a persistent issue across South Africa, frequently resulting in fatalities due to unsafe conditions. Authorities report that those working the sites are typically undocumented migrants recruited by organised crime gangs.

Speaking to the news agency AFP, Deputy Provincial Police Commissioner Maj Gen Fred Kekana suggested the Johannesburg bar attack might also have been carried out in retaliation for an incident last month, during which one person was killed and another was wounded. Maj Gen Kekana confirmed at the scene that police have clear pictures and, in some cases, names of the suspects involved.

These attacks follow another fatal incident just days earlier in the city of Durban, where gunmen stormed a house in the KwaMakhutha township and killed 11 people. Separately on Saturday, police in Ekurhuleni, east of Johannesburg, discovered the body of a tenth woman, stating they could not rule out the presence of an active serial killer due to similarities between the deaths.

South Africa currently records about 60 murders every day among its population of 62 million, making its murder rate one of the highest in the world. Illegal firearms remain widespread, and recent mass shootings have deepened concerns over violent turf wars tied to drug trafficking and illicit mining syndicates.

The government has faced mounting pressure to rein in the violence. In February, President Cyril Ramaphosa described organised crime as "the most immediate threat to our democracy, our society and our economic development". Earlier this year, the military was deployed alongside police units in areas experiencing the highest murder rates to curb armed violence.

What we do not know yet is who ordered these latest attacks or precisely what triggered them, as police have not established a definitive motive in either case. As of Sunday morning, no arrests had been made in connection with either shooting.

Police inquiries are continuing in both Gauteng and the Western Cape to track down the gunmen. I'll be following this one — check back for updates.