Everson Luhanga
Wearing heavy gumboots and dirty overalls, the miners looked frail and thin. Some could not have been more than 12 years old. Most of them were from Lesotho and Mozambique and are thought to have been in the country illegally.
They were among the 46 zamazama (illegal miners) arrested as police struck the Westrand on Tuesday, adding to the mass arrest of 80 miners in Krugersdorp over the weekend.
Returning with helicopters, the massive police operation was mainly focused on the abandoned gold mines scattered around the Westrand townships – and follows the gang-rape committed by armed men last Thursday.
Wearing Basotho traditional blankets and balaclavas, the gunmen robbed 22 film crew members
– 12 women and 10 men – while they were shooting a music video. They raped eight of the women.
During the police raids on Tuesday, one man was shot and killed in a dramatic shootout between law enforcement and zamazamas.
Police Minister Bheki Cele and Gauteng provincial police commissioner Lieutenant-General Elias Mawela joined the Hawks, mining security agencies and crime intelligence to rack up 46 arrests. As with the arrests made over the weekend, not a single suspect has yet been linked to the rapes.
However, Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola said that “we are working on the investigation to see if some of them will be linked”.
Speaking to the media outside the Alexandra police station on Friday after visiting the victims’ families, Minister Cele said a team of investigators have collected biological evidence to be sent to the laboratory for tests.
National director for detectives and forensic services General Khosi Senthumule who is leading the investigation said: “We have a forensic team to help us expedite the DNA. The team is working around the clock. And we believe probably by Friday we can have their DNA. Then we can compare with what was gathered on the scene and we can do our linkages.”
Speaking at the abandoned mines in the West Rand on Tuesday, Minister Cele said that they refuse to co-govern the country with criminals.
Minister Cele said similar operations will be carried out in other provinces where the issue of Zamazamas is dominant like Gauteng, Free State, Limpopo, North West, and Mpumalanga to deal with illegal mining.
He raised concerns that the zamazamas are not acting alone but rather are being operated by other syndicates and their focus will be on looking for those running the businesses at the top.
He thanked the mining industry for working with the government to fight crime.
Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General Elias Mawela said illegal mining in West Rand had grown out of hand in recent years. This, he suggested, means that there were other people involved who are funding the operations.
“We have previously conducted such operations where we have removed a lot of mining equipment like phendukas but they keep on coming back,” said Lieutenant General Mawela.
Since Thursday, over 120 men have been arrested in police raids conducted in the area.
Hawks’ spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Philani Nkwalase said authorities recovered 700 tonnes of gold-bearing material, surpassing R2.5 million in five of the illegal plants.
He said the suspects are expected to appear in court soon to face charges including the contravention of the Precious Metals, Mining Health and Safety Act, theft and the Immigration Act.
