By Xolani Nhlapo and Esa Alexander
JOHANNESBURG/CAPE TOWN, Sept 27 (Reuters) - South African police were on Sunday 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.
Officials were still establishing the motives for the shootings near Johannesburg and Cape Town, but initial investigations suggested one could be a turf war between illegal miners and the other a business rivalry.
Violent crime remains rife in South Africa, despite government efforts to curb one of the highest per-capita murder rates in the world.
In Wedela township, about 80 km (50 miles) from Johannesburg, 17 people were killed and 15 injured at a tavern when suspects armed with AK-47 rifles opened fire at around 9:30 p.m. (1930 GMT) on Saturday, according to police.
SHOOTING COULD BE RETALIATION
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 powerful gangs control the illicit gold mining trade.
The province's police commissioner Tommy Mthombeni told reporters on the scene that one line of inquiry was that the shooting was a "turf war in terms of illegal mining".
There was a shooting at the same tavern about a month ago and Saturday's shooting could be retaliation for that, he added.
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 happened 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 2:00 a.m. on Sunday, killing 10 people and injuring 11 more.
An eyewitness video from the venue shows people dancing and singing in a crowded outdoor area when a burst of shots rings out and screams are heard.
A police official there said "a business jealousy might have been the issue," as there were reports that people had been buying alcohol in cheaper places and going to the venue to drink.
No arrests have been made yet and detectives are working to find the gunmen, 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. "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.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said earlier this year that organised crime had become the biggest threat to South Africa's democracy, and deployed the army to help police in some areas.
A shooting at a house party near Durban on Tuesday night 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.
(Additional reporting by Siyabonga Sishi, Nellie Peyton, Thando Hlophe, and Thuli Tshabalala in Johannesburg and Shivani Tanna in Bengaluru; Writing by Nellie Peyton and Alexander Winning; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle and David Holmes)
