President Ramaphosa calls for action after tavern shootings

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa urged security agencies to quickly bring the perpetrators of two separate incidents of mass gun violence in Gauteng and Kwazulu-Natal to justice.

An attack early on Sunday morning in Soweto, the biggest black urban settlement in Africa, left 15 people dead and several others injured. A group of gunmen armed with rifles and 9mm pistols carried out the attack in a tavern, according to police statements.

In Pietermaritzburg, the second-largest city in the province of Kwazulu-Natal, two men shot at least 12 people in a tavern Saturday, leading to four deaths, the police said in a separate statement.

The motives for both attacks are unknown.

In a statement, Ramaphosa said every violent death “is unacceptable and worrying.” The president said more needed to be done to reduce violent crimes and the illicit circulation of firearms.