Slovoville community lives in fear amid mining ‘gang’ wars

THE community of Slovoville near Dobsonville in Soweto say “gangs” fighting territorial battles over gold have turned their area into a war zone.

Police have arrested four suspects in connection with the murder of several men believed to have been illegal miners involved in a gang war for mining territory and gold.

The arrests follow a police raid on a compound in Slovoville that is believed to house many illegal miners involved in gang activity in the area, on Monday night. The suspects allegedly engaged in a shoot-out with police officers but the police were able to take control of the situation and arrest them.

Among other things police found during the raid was a baboon. The Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was called to take the animal.

The suspects, believed to be Lesotho nationals, apparently had getaway cars.

Gauteng police spokesperson Mavela Masondo said the men were facing charges of murder, and attempted murder for allegedly engaging in a shoot-out with police.

Masondo said police were still investigating the matter, and could not say when the men would appear in court.

“They will be charged with the murders that took place over the weekend and attempted murder because of the alleged shoot-out between themselves and the officers,” Masondo said.

Meanwhile, the community of Slovoville said they have had enough of the “mining gangs” who often had gun fights in broad daylight. Residents said the area had become akin to the “wild wild west”.

Community members were scared to talk to The Star because of fears that the gangs would victimise them. Those who were brave enough to speak said that they feared that their children would get hurt in the crossfire during gang fights.

The running battles have left the elderly in Slovoville shocked and scared. Some have even spoken about moving away from the area, which is close to Harmony Gold Mine.

“We have children, we are so scared. If we had an option we would move away from this area but the concerning thing about these people is that when they fight they just do it in daylight and it looks like a movie,” a resident, who did not want to be identified, said.

The residents blamed the mines for allowing the illegal miners to take over the compound where they are believed to be living.

Harmony Gold spokesperson Mashego Mashego told The Star that their mine near Slovoville was still operational. He denied that their property had been taken over by illegal miners.

“It is true that mining communities suffer because of illegal mining and related crime such as bribery, violence against workers and management, and child labour.

“We have programmes in place to pro-actively mitigate and manage the impact of illegal mining at our operations. Increased security intelligence is being used to combat illegal mining,” Mashego said.