SIYABONGA SITHOLE
Twenty zama zamas arrested in connection with alleged illegal mining operations in the North West appeared in the Stilfontein Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday.
The suspects were arrested this week on charges that ranged from violation of immigration laws and conspiracy to commit robbery and the possession of unlicensed firearms and ammunition.
The accused, whose ages range from 19 to 40, were arrested in a joint operation led by the North West Hawks Tactical Management Section, alongside Special Task Force, National Intervention Unit, District Illegal Mining Task Team, Tactical Response Team, Bidvest Protea Coin, and the Harmony Gold mine on Monday.
They were remanded in custody following a brief court appearance and their case was postponed to October 18 for verification of addresses and their immigration status.
North West police spokesperson Katlego Mogale said their arrest followed weeks of surveillance of alleged illegal mining activities. Mogale said the police recovered 15 AK47 rifles, six hunting rifles, two shotguns and one R5 rifle, boxes of ammunition, explosives and an undisclosed amount of money during the operation.
Their appearance at the Stilfontein court coincided with the appearance of 88 alleged illegal miners who were arrested in Orkney on October 20, 2021. In this operation, 11 firearms, ammunition, illegal mining paraphernalia, gold-bearing material and food were seized.
The 21st suspect was arrested later on the same day at his home in Stilfontein. The suspect was seen in the footage collected during surveillance of his vehicle delivering goods at the shaft on several occasions. The vehicle was also seized.
Hawks boss Lieutenant-General Godfrey Lebeya commended law enforcement and cautioned that the arrests were “only just the beginning”.
On Tuesday, Police Minister Bheki Cele said out of the 20 suspects arrested at the mine, 15 were foreign nationals. The majority of them, 13 in number, were Lesotho nationals, five were South Africans, one suspect was from eSwatini and another suspect was from Zimbabwe.
Residents said cable theft was rife in the area with scrapyards said to be the reason for the increase in cable and infrastructure thefts.
Cele promised to pay a return visit to the area in a matter of two weeks.
“Two weeks will be a very long time to come back and meet the communities in full force in the form of an imbizo listening to you. We are making the preparations now so that we can tackle things that you have been raised now.
“By the time that we come back, especially the resources including both human resources, equipment and all that, we might be able then to bring the answers as we come back,” Cele told the SABC.