DOMINANT ANGLE
Canberra links these two South African shootings to a structural problem of illegal firearms rather than an isolated incident
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
Eight armed men with assault rifles killed 17 people (13 men, 4 women) and injured 15 in a bar in Wedela around 9:30 p.m. Saturday, according to ABC News Australia
- 02
A second attack left 10 dead and 11 injured around 2 a.m. at a grilled meat shop in Lwandle, near Cape Town
- 03
Provincial police commissioner Tommy Mthombeni says one lead being explored for Wedela is a turf war between illegal gold miners, the "zama zamas"
ANALYSIS
Canberra, September 28, 2026. Australian media are providing detailed accounts of the two shootings that left at least 27 people dead in South Africa in the night of September 26 to 27, without downplaying the extent of the toll. According to ABC News Australia, eight armed men with assault rifles stormed a bar in the Wedela township, about 80 kilometres west of Johannesburg, at around 9:30 pm on Saturday. They first shot at customers outside before continuing the attack inside the establishment, killing 17 people, 13 men and four women, and injuring 15 others. The South African police specified that the attackers searched some of the victims and took their phones before fleeing in two vehicles, which were set on fire at the scene.
Four hours later, at around 2 am, a second attack targeted a grilled meat business in the Lwandle township, in the suburbs of Cape Town, leaving 10 people dead and 11 injured. No arrests have been announced in either case.
The Australian press is particularly focusing on the lead put forward by investigators: a territorial war between illegal gold miners, the "zama zamas", to explain the Wedela massacre, and a commercial rivalry for the Lwandle attack. Provincial police commissioner Tommy Mthombeni confirmed to journalists that this hypothesis remains a line of investigation. PerthNow recalls that powerful gangs control the illicit gold trade in the region and that the area is identified by experts as a hub of armed violence.
Crime expert Yusuf Abramjee, quoted by PerthNow, sums up the finding shared by the Australian coverage: "South Africa has a serious problem with illegal firearms, frequently used by organised crime groups and in gang-related violence." President Cyril Ramaphosa promised that the police would find the perpetrators of the two attacks, stating: "This cannot continue."
For Canberra, these two shootings are part of a broader statistic, already known for having one of the highest homicide rates per inhabitant in the world, despite the government's efforts to curb it.
