Police Minister Bheki Cele has hinted at the deployment of the SA National Defence Force to restore law and order in Riverlea.
However, he said further direction would be given following a meeting between the ministers making up the Security Cluster and President Cyril Ramaphosa. Cele has also called for the illegal mining ‘holes’ to be closed.
Cele was addressing the community on Friday following the arrests of at least 190 illegal miners operating in the district situated on the outskirts of western Johannesburg.
Earlier this week, IOL reported that over 20 suspected illegal miners were gunned down in an apparent turf war at the Zamimpilo Informal Settlement in the Riverlea area at the weekend. Police have since deployed the National Intervention Unit and Public Order Policing to the area.
Cele said the security cluster would meet with Ramaphosa on Saturday. They will look into matters around illegal mining and work on long-term solutions to this form of organised crime.
"The president has given the instruction that we should stop dealing with zama-zamas on 'peace meal'. Together with the ministers of Defence and Home Affairs, we will sit with the president and put a plan in place to that we don't have this problem moving from Krugersdorp to Riverlea, to Benoni to Florida. We have to find a way of dealing with it once and for all," Cele said.
[LATEST] @SAPoliceService have arrested 194 suspects during intensified police operations in #Riverlea and surrounds to arrest #ZamaZama terrorising communities and conducting #IllegalMining pic.twitter.com/Td33ORtgKX
— Lirandzu Themba (@LirandzuThemba) August 4, 2023
Cele said after Saturday’s meeting, he believes a broader plan will be put in place.
“People are calling for soldiers and they’ve now stopped because they can see that police have capacity. We are not saying that we are not going to work with the soldiers, but after we have seen the president, we will come with a broader plan,” Cele said.
IOL