Residents in two separate areas are living in fear because of escalated violence and shootings, allegedly by rival groups of illegal miners.

According to a resident of Wedela Ext 4, he was in his living room watching a football match between the Spanish teams Atletico Madrid and Malaga on August 19 at around 20:00 when he suddenly started hearing what sounded like shots.

“I turned the volume down to hear what was going on and realised that I was in real danger as people were running outside, shooting at each other,” he says.

“It was worse in Ext 3 because that is where the illegal miners stay. Residents said they slept on the floor in their homes for two to three hours until the shooting ended because they were scared that the bullets might get inside their houses,” says a CPF member from this town.

Concerned residents, who do not want to be named because they are terrified of retaliation, also shared their sound recordings of continuing rapid gunfire near their houses as well as a photo of the wall of a house in Ext 3 damaged by bullets.

As far as could be determined, tension has been building between the zama-zamas in Wedela and those in Blyvoor for several months.

According to residents, the escalation in violence started with an incident on August 16 when illegal miners noticed two zamas from Blyvoor allegedly snooping around in Wedela Ext 3. Although the one man managed to run away, the Wedela zamas first assaulted his accomplice before shooting him.

A large group of zama-zamas returned to Wedela on August 19 to take revenge on their friend’s murder. They allegedly stormed a group of illegal miners relaxing between houses in Ext 3 and started shooting at them.

They chased after these zamas when they scattered and chased after them through streets all over Wedela. Although one was killed, most of the Wedela zama-zamas managed to get firearms and retaliated.

According to reports, the zamas even chased each other up the hills that surround the town.
More problems ensued when fighting restarted on the night of August 24 when members of the rival groups again arrived in the town.

Normal residents say that they are terrified by the violence. Some people kept their children from school on August 20, and several shops have started to close earlier at night.

Residents are so worried that they want the SANDF to get involved to sort the problems.

Meanwhile, violence also escalated between the zama-zamas in the Leeuwpoort area near East Driefontein on the night of August 24.

According to reports, some of their bullets hit the houses of farmers near the Mphahla Village informal housing area, where many illegal miners are known to reside.

As far as could be determined, these problems are related to the murder of yet another illegal miner in the Fochville area recently.