Residents of the Eleadah complex on the R28, towards Randfontein, are frustrated with illegal mining operations that started behind their complex a few months ago.
Tshililo Waha Muzila, one of the directors of the board for phase one of Eleadah, said they noticed the illegal miners had moved in, in November last year.
Also Read:
https://www.citizen.co.za/krugersdorp-news/397325/vigilant-police-nab-suspects-at-mcdonalds/
“We felt we were being intimidated by them,” he explained as he told how the miners’ “security guards” would stand at the boundary wall during the day.
“They would play loud music and sometimes just fire off random shots.”
The illegal miners would shoot their guns at all hours and have loud parties behind the complex. Muzila said that there was a huge safety issue.
He claims that when they initially phoned police they were told that the officers were scared to go out at night and the zama-zama’s came out mostly at night.
Photos: Supplied.
In December however residents went to the Krugersdorp police station demanding assistance.
“We picketed inside the station and told them we were not leaving until we get help,” he said.
After that, the police quickly acted and Muzila says that police came with a Casspir the next night and collected everyone and everything they could find. Since then the police have also been doing regular patrols in the area.
Although this did not rid the area of the illegal mining problem, it has brought some much needed relief and residents are feeling safer.
“We have not been hearing shots anymore,” he said.
Muzila also believes that there is a human trafficking element at play as some of the residents have seen trucks loading and off-loading people at odd hours.
Apart from the initial safety threat residents are also afraid of ground falls in and around their complex because of all the digging.
He believes that a specific task team must be put together to investigate the illegal mining problem in the West Rand and that more police visibility could greatly assist in discouraging the illegal mining operations.
The News was advised to not visit the site or approach the illegal minors because they are deemed extremely dangerous.
