Zama-zama wars must be stopped

The discovery of the bodies of seven suspected illegal miners found dumped in a veld in Benoni, on the East Rand, speaks volumes about the levels of lawlessness in this country.

It is not the first time that such grim news made headlines, seemingly without even raising eyebrows.

It shows the shocking levels to which we have sunk, that such news struggle for impact.

This newspaper has previously published stories around illegal mining, an industry characterised by murderous turf wars, which again seem to have a hand in the latest discovery.

Much as those exploiting the disused and abandoned mines on the Reef have counted their gains, the body count has steadily been rising, regretfully without the kind of reaction that would suggest that law enforcement is serious about ending the problem once and for all.

The discovery of the seven bodies follows a similar pattern as we noted with the discovery of 14 bodies in March, also found near defunct mines in Ekurhuleni.

Despite the escalating deaths, it seems the loss of life has not warranted the urgency from law enforcement and even higher authorities.

Explanation by the police was simply that they believe the bodies were of foreigners, as if that justifies the total lack of compassion and urgency.

In March, when we reported the war for territorial supremacy among the illegal miners – known commonly as zama-zamas – we mentioned a visit by officials sent by the government of Lesotho to broker peace among nationals from the Mountain Kingdom who were involved in the mindless blood-letting.

Nothing much was said about efforts from officials this side of the border to bring the situation under control and root out illegal mining.

It cannot be acceptable that nearly a year after the 14 bodies were collected, there is still no word on the progress made in investigating the deaths – let alone the arrest of the killers.

This lackadaisical approach by the police only emboldens criminals to brazenly continue in rampant lawlessness.

It is clear that the same level of incompetence awaits the latest murders.