Illegal miners seem to be wreaking havoc in the areas of Sol Plaatje, Matholesville and Durban Deep. Killings are said to be part of their normal daily lives, as community members have become accustomed to the murders.
Speaking to one of the residents of Sol Plaatje, whose name cannot be mentioned for safety reasons, he said they live in fear and they are tired. He reiterated that they have lost trust in the police because they do not take their cries seriously.
“I have been a Sol Plaatje resident since 2001. Crime levels are too high in our areas. We are at a point where we are planning a peaceful march to the police station. The aim of the march will be to highlight our pleas and also to ask for a mobile police station in the area because we think it might assist in reducing crime,” he said.
Also Read:
https://roodepoortrecord.co.za/2018/04/25/legal-mining-to-curb-illegal-mining/
According to the resident, there are two groups of illegal miners in the area who still use the abandoned shafts, and they are at war. The groups are the Basotho and Makhalanga (who are said to be from Zimbabwe).
“All these people are illegal miners and there is fighting between the two groups. Apart from those two, the Basotho people fight among themselves and they have formed gangs. An organisation was formed and the members wear T-shirts similar to those of Kaizer Chiefs. I am not sure about their name, but they are trigger-happy. They go around at night and in broad daylight, shooting people for unknown reasons,” the resident said.
He added that some people are robbed and then let go without being harmed; however, the females are raped and then killed.
“They are so dangerous that if I as a resident witness someone being murdered, they will hunt me down and kill me. A couple was killed recently because of a disagreement between one of the members of the organisation and the man, who is a resident here. The Basotho people tried to force the man to join their organisation, but when he refused, he and his partner were killed and dumped in a mine shaft,” he added.
They requested help from the Roodepoort Police, but were not satisfied with the service rendered.
“I don’t want to lie. They sometimes help but this time, we feel that we cannot survive as residents here under the police force of Roodepoort. Sometimes you will see police vans coming and collecting money from the very same illegal miners who go around killing people. We feel that those police officials promote what the illegal miners are doing and we don’t feel safe,” he said.
The community said they are fed up and are willing to work with the Roodepoort Police to curb the illegal mining and the number of killings.
“There used to be structures here, like your Community Policing Forum, a Sector Crime Forum, patrollers and a neighbourhood watch, but all of them were dissolved under the previous leadership. All we want is to reduce crime around the ward,” he concluded.
The Roodepoort Police have been contacted for comment, and an update will be published once it has been received.
