Fear as bodies of 5 more zama zamas found at mine
JOHANNESBURG: Residents living alongside an abandoned mineshaft in Springs say they fear for their lives because of a spate of deadly shootings between rival illegal miners fighting for territorial control of the mine.
In the latest incident yesterday, the bodies of five suspected illegal miners, commonly known as zama zamas, were found at Grootvlei mine, which is located on their doorstep.
The disused mine has been the epicentre of gang warfare between rival zama zamas in Gauteng.
The bodies were found sprawled in an open field, metres away from the mine and adjacent to a cluster of housing complexes. It is believed that the group were killed during a battle over control of mining territory in the area.
This comes after 29 zama zamas died at abandoned mine shafts three weeks ago. In the first incident, 19 zama zamas died after a fiery gun battle between rival groups in Benoni. Ten more died a week later after suffocating in an abandoned shaft.
Yesterday, residents who live in the complex told the Cape Times’s sister paper The Star that 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 at about 8pm on Sunday night.
“I always hear gunshots, I didn’t expect it to get this bad,” he said yesterday.
Mpogo said he was startled yesterday morning when he saw a large contingent of police officers in the open 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.”
Alphane said 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 spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Lungelo Dlamini said it was suspected that some of the zama zamas were shot, while others were killed with sharp objects.
“Several cartridge cases were found at the scene,” he said. “It is believed that there was a fight between rival groups of illegal miners in the area,” he confirmed.
No arrests have yet been made.