Johannesburg - Residents living alongside an abandoned mine shaft in Springs, Ekurhuleni, say they fear for their lives because of the spate of deadly shootings between rival illegal miners fighting for territorial control of the mine.
In the latest incident on Monday, the bodies of five suspected illegal miners, commonly known as zama zamas, were found at Grootvlei mine, located on their doorstep.
Police made the gruesome discovery at the disused mine, which has been the epicentre of gang warfare between rival zama zamas in Gauteng.
The bodies were found sprawled in the veld metres from the mine and adjacent to a cluster of housing complexes. It is believed that the group were killed during a war over the control of mining territory in the area.
This comes after 29 zama zamas died at various abandoned mine shafts within five days early this month. In the first incident, 19 zama zamas died after a gunbattle between rival groups in Benoni.
Ten more died a week later after suffocating in the abandoned shaft.
On Monday, residents who live in the mining complex told The Star they heard the two rival gangs exchanging gunfire on Sunday night. Although the sound of the gunshots terrified them, many said it had become the norm.
Thabo Mpogo, one of the residents, said he heard the two groups battling it out around 8pm on Sunday “I didn’t think it was serious because I always hear gunshots going off. I didn’t expect it to get this bad,” he said.
Mpogo said he was startled on Monday morning when he saw a large contingent of police officers in the veld inspecting the bodies.
“I was so shocked by what happened so close to us that I was unable to go to work this morning.”
Another resident, Albert Alphane, said:
“We are so scared that we could get injured or killed if we get caught in the crossfire. It isn’t safe to live here.”
Alphane explained that although he heard numerous gunshots on Sunday night, he never thought of calling the police because he didn’t expect the battle to escalate to such an extent.
Police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Lungelo Dlamini said some of the slain zama zamas were shot dead while others had been killed with sharp objects.
“Several cartridges from handguns were found at the scene,” he said. Dlamini said the police were notified of the bodies when a community member stumbled across them on the way to work and reported it.
Although the motive for the shootings was under investigation, the incident was believed to be linked to illegal mining, he added.
No arrests had been made and the police appealed to those with information to report it to them.
@Karishma_Dipa
The Star