Joburg metro police were greeted by gunfire when they tried to raid a shack occupied by illegal miners yesterday.
The officers, in the company of the media and the city’s officials, had to fire back when a group of zama zamas emerged from a shack in Matholesville, a township in Roodepoort on the West Rand.
The group then fled on foot towards a mine dump.
They again started shooting at the police officers with automatic rifles once they reached the top of the mine dump. The police returned fire, and when they reached the top of the mine dump, they found that the zama zamas had vanished. No one was injured.
The operation comes after five bodies of suspected illegal miners were found at Zamimpilo informal settlement in Riverlea on Sunday, where more than 100 people were later arrested in connection with illegal mining activities.
Following the incident, Mgcini Tshwaku, Joburg’s MMC for public safety, told journalists at the scene that metro police officers were on a mission to eradicate illegal mining in the metro.
"When the [illegal] miners come to the community, they are armed with big guns. I wanted to show them that the JMPD [Johannesburg Metro Police Department] is not the SA Police Service. We will shoot you. We don’t play. Once you point a firearm at us, we’ll point it back at you and show you God.”
He said they had conducted the operation to [show] the zama zamas that the JMPD had the same guns that the zama zamas usually carry and show off on Facebook and other social media sites.
“The military rifles and bullets that they have, we also have them. These people rape, they break into homes, steal and ask for payment [protection fee] every month. No matter where you come from, whether it is Zimbabwe, Lesotho or SA, crime is crime. The JMPD special unit will deal with you decisively.
“This [illegal] mining that they are doing is affecting the community of [Matholesville]. We have heard that they take women and take them up the [mountainous mining dump] and rape them,” he said.
“They [community] say they [illegal miners] have developed a new criminal activity where they demand to be paid by community members every month,” said Tshwaku.
JMPD spokesperson Xolani Fihla said Tshwaku, accompanied by the JMPD, was doing a walkabout and inspecting illegal mining spots in Riverlea and Matholesville. And upon arrival in Matholesville, the JMPD were met with a barrage of gunfire.
“The officers shot back at the suspects who were firing at them but the suspects managed to escape. There were no injuries sustained during the shootout and the JMPD will continue with the operation and inspect the hotspots in the area ... ” said Fihla.
Meanwhile, police minister Bheki Cele said the residents of Riverlea said their safety had improved since the specialised forces of the SAPS were deployed in the area to shut down illegal mining operations.
“The additional police deployment in the Riverlea area has so far resulted in the arrest of over 190 suspects, majority of them are undocumented persons. Police have since recovered scores of illegal firearms, ammunition, stolen property, explosives, gas cylinders and other tools commonly used during illegal mining activities,” said Cele.
“It is encouraging that the Hawks have arrested almost 90 suspects whom police believe are the handlers of these zama zamas and are middle and top players in the web of illegal mining,” he said.
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