Residents ‘fighting a losing battle’ after gun battle between zama zamas and security guards

Frustrated residents from Primrose in Germiston, Ekurhuleni, believe they are fighting a losing battle as illegal miners with high-calibre rifles are allegedly invading the area. 

If it is not a gun battle between rival illegal miners, which usually spreads to the suburbs, it is the theft of electric cables, which often leaves the area with power outages. 

Since the beginning of last month, residents have been subjected to continuous blasting underground by illegal miners who are allegedly operating in several shafts around the Simmer and Jack dump site. 

In the latest incident, at about 1am on Tuesday a group of reaction guards from a local security company were embroiled in a shootout with illegal miners. 

According to the security company, illegal miners engaged in a gun battle after the guards spotted a man wearing a reflective vest who allegedly flashed a torch at them.  When the guards got out of their car to investigate, they spotted about 30 to 40 men lying on the slope of the sidewalk near Leeuwenhof school.

The man with the torch allegedly started shooting at officers, who returned fire. The men lying on the ground started shooting while running towards the dump site. 

A resident in the area and owner of the security company, Mike Robinson, said police were called but were unable to provide backup as they were apparently attending to another incident. 

Robinson painted a story that is marred by crumbling infrastructure, specially regarding cable theft in the area. The illegal miners allegedly dig holes near the road to steal cables. 

He said about 30 of his clients have reported bullets hitting their homes through the roof or through windows.

"Earlier this year, a schoolgirl, about 13 years old, was cooking in the kitchen when a bullet came through the window and hit the wall 30cm from where she was standing.

"She dropped to the ground. She thought the house was under attack and pressed a panic button. We responded and searched the house but it was empty.

"We found the bullet came through a lounge window, travelled through a doorway and hit the wall in the kitchen where she was working. It was an AK-47 round from guys shooting from the dump site," he said. 

Robinson said children used to play in the parks around the suburb, but that has changed as turf wars escalated to the area with zama zamas fighting.

He said the area was dark at night since the illegal miners had cut and removed all the street poles along  Main Reef Road opposite the Simmer and Jack dump site. This allegedly allowed them to roam around the suburb freely.

"We are trying to raise money to enclose the area. They [illegal miners] often target the Wychwood substation. I suspect if they haven't had a good day mining, they target our cables, they target whatever they can to make a bit of money," he said.

"Children used to ride bicycles around here. Today kids don't walk on the road. I have customers reporting they have taken  mattresses off beds and put them on floors in case gunfire starts at night so kids are sleeping as low as possible.

"People are selling their homes. People are moving out."

Resident Janet Gerretsen, 62, said residents try to fill the holes dug by the illegal miners. She said the City of Ekurhuleni was failing to address their issues. She said she had been staying in the area since 1991.

"We never had this problem before," she said.

Gerretsen said the problem with illegal miners goes back to 2012, but then it was only  cable theft. She said illegal miners allegedly steal cables from the substation which supplies the suburb and surrounding areas, including business areas. 

Community policing forum chairperson Tracy Enslin said soldiers have been in the area at least nine times. 

"Only one of those operations was a success because they [illegal miners] were not tipped off. With every other operation they knew the army was coming in, that police were coming. We have only had one operation where they were caught by surprise," she said. 

The department of mineral resources and energy said illegal mining falls under the mandate of the police service as it constitutes a criminal activity.

The City of Ekurhuleni and police are yet to comment. 

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