JOHANNESBURG — Three mass shootings in South Africa killed 38 people in a week, including separate attacks Saturday night near the country’s two largest cities that left 27 dead, police said. At least 10 people were killed and 11 injured at a shisanyama, a restaurant serving grilled meat, near Cape Town, according to police. Near Johannesburg, 17 people died when gunmen carrying AK-47s entered a township tavern. Police said the attackers allegedly searched patrons, took their cellphones and fled in two unidentified vehicles. Two other vehicles were set on fire. Police have not disclosed a motive for either Saturday attack. The violence followed a shooting Tuesday at a house party in KwaMakhutha, near Durban, where 11 people — including a pregnant woman — were killed by multiple gunmen. Authorities have not established a motive. Police said some people at the gathering were known to them in connection with criminal investigations. Illegal firearms are widespread in South Africa, and mass shootings are often linked to gangs and organized crime, including disputes involving illegal gold miners known as zama-zamas. In June, 12 people were killed in a Johannesburg informal settlement in a shooting attributed to turf battles between zama-zamas. South Africa records about 60 murders a day, but the repeated mass shootings have become a national concern. President Cyril Ramaphosa has called organized crime “the most immediate threat to our democracy, our society and our economic development” and sent the army into some of the areas hardest hit by violence. The killings come as South Africans prepare to vote in local elections in November, with crime expected to be a central campaign issue. Public attention has also focused this month on femicides: protests have followed a series of killings in Johannesburg, and a tenth woman’s body was found Saturday despite police pledges to intensify efforts against gender-based violence.