Johannesburg - After yesterday’s gunfight in Matholeville, close to Riverlea, between law enforcement officers and zama-zamas, law enforcement officers said they intended to continue the raids on zama-zama strongholds.
A variety of mining gear was confiscated, including milling machines, generators, gas cylinders, phendukas, and more. The informal settlement is thought to be home to a number of zama-zamas.
In a co-ordinated operation, the JMPD Specialised Unit and SAPS carried out a raid to drive out zama-zamas, who are terrorising the surrounding communities.
In addition to finding what was thought to be the zama-zamas’ operational headquarters, the authorities also found five large-calibre weapons, explosives and other mining machinery.
The City of Joburg’s MMC for public safety, Dr Mgcini Tshwaku, was part of the operation, which started on Saturday.
“A gang of zama-zamas operating in Matholeville opened fire on police, and police retaliated. This is an area we have been told is very risky. This is the place where zama-zamas took women to the top and raped them around February and March this year. The zama-zamas raped the women for about four days. This place is very dangerous; no SAPS has come here,” said Tshwaku.
“The locals have been crying about the high rate of crime in this area; every month they have to pay ransom to the zama-zamas and they are robbed. We confiscated a number of items, including equipment, sand and firearms,” he said.
He said rape was a significant problem that the majority of community members complained about.
Eight women who were in the area filming a music video in 2022 were gang raped by a group of zama-zamas.
All the taverns in Riverlea would be shut down, according to Tshwaku.
”I told them that I was going to close down all taverns because when people are drunk, they rape and kill and they don’t care," said Tshwaku.
The raid came after the community of Riverlea threatened to take matters into their own hands should police not deal decisively with the zama-zamas.
The police were shown the locations of some of the illegal miners by several locals. The majority of them claimed that they were terrified of the illegal miners, who occasionally engage in shooting warfare among themselves.
One zama-zama was killed over the weekend during an operation where police discovered their headquarters.
About 200 zama-zamas, the majority of whom are from Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Malawi, have been arrested, according to Police Minister Bheki Cele, who made the announcement at an illegal mining imbizo on Friday in Riverlea.
Cele said about 61 holes were identified in the Riverlea area where zama-zamas operate. He said authorities from the City of Johannesburg and DMR should find a solution to shut them down. He went as far as warning zama-zamas who are underground to get out of the holes or face being sealed in. They are expected to appear in court this week.
Tshwaku said the operations will continue until residents are no longer affected.
The Star