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WATCH: Riverlea protesters barricade Main Reef Road after deadly zama zama gun battle
Riverlea residents are believed to be protesting over illegal mining in their area after five bodies were found.
Officers responded to the incident near the Zamimpilo informal settlement on Saturday night. Picture: iStock
Motorists have been urged to avoid Main Reef Road near Roodepoort as volatile protest action has erupted in the area.
Residents of Riverlea barricaded the road with rocks and burning tyres on Monday morning.
It is understood the residents are protesting over illegal mining.
WATCH: Riverlea residents protest
The protest has caused heavy traffic congestion.
The motorists have been advised to use alternative routes to avoid being delayed.
The situation is tense
The Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) is monitoring the protest by residents.
Spokesperson Xolani Fihla urged motorists to use alternative routes.
“The roads that are affected include the Main Reef Road, at the intersection of Commando and New Canada Road.
“There are further reports of traffic disruptions on Nasrec Road near Juskei Drive. These closures have affected traffic on New Canada Road, leaving Pennyville travelling towards Main Reef Road, officers have been dispatched. Motorists are urged to exercise caution avoid and use alternative routes.”
Fihla said the situation is tense and JMPD officers have been deployed to the area.
Police probe
Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding a shooting between rival illegal miners (zama zamas) groups in Riverlea.
Officers responded to the incident near the Zamimpilo informal settlement on Saturday night.
Spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Mavela Masondo said during the investigation police discovered five bodies with gunshot wounds at the scene.
“A preliminary investigation suggests two rival groups of illegal miners were shooting at each other in the area, and that led to the death of five people.
“Police have deployed members from the Tactical Response Team and Public Order Policing to monitor the area. A case of murder, with five counts, has been opened,” Masondo said.
Masondo has appealed to anyone who might have information that can help in the investigation or assist in the apprehension of the suspects to contact the police.
Gun battle
Democratic Alliance (DA) shadow minister of mineral resources James Lorimer said residents of Riverlea claimed gangs of men armed with automatic weapons were moving through the area and heavy gunfire.
“They say up to 20 people were shot. One resident says they treated a seriously wounded man and woman on the pavement outside their house while waiting for an ambulance to arrive. Other residents say a man was shot and wounded and taken away by police.
“Videos being circulated show armed men moving through the suburb and to the sound of continuous automatic gunfire. Other local reports say one gang left the area carrying what appeared to be two bodies wrapped in blankets,” Lorimer said.
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Asserting control
Lorimer claims rival gangs are attempting to assert control over the Zamamphilo mining settlement.
“This is a collection of hundreds of shacks where most of the occupants appear to be foreigners and where the primary activities are illegal mining and illegal gold processing.
“The settlement is a few metres from Main Reef Road and sits between Riverlea and Industria. It lies atop the buried Transnet fuel pipeline and a major high-pressure water main. This is another major source of concern. If illegal mining activities rupture either pipeline, large numbers of people could be killed or injured,” Lorimer said.:
Zama zamas
The DA has called on the police to inform the public about what they are doing about illegal miners in Riverlea.
“Until they do so, the belief will spread that the police are too weak to tackle the gangs or else they are paid off to do nothing proactive about the centre of criminality that is Zamimpilo.
Until there is a deliberate and systematic effort to tackle criminality associated with illegal mining, the government will continue to lose control of parts of South Africa and the police will be relegated to mere collectors of bodies after the shooting is done,” Lorimer said.
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