Residents of Zamimpilo informal settlement near Riverlea south of Johannesburg say they are relieved now that law enforcement agencies are conducting regular raids.
City of Johannesburg MMC for Public Safety Mgcini Tshwaku is in the area leading a Joburg Metro police operation targeted at Zama Zamas. They are demolishing shacks believed to be hideouts for Zama Zamas.
Last weekend five suspected illegal miners were shot and killed by a rival Zama Zama gang fighting over illegal mining territory in Rivelea.
This resident says before police came; they knew that after 6pm they had to be locked in their shacks as bullets start flying.
“I started living here in 1997 and it was very peaceful. I have never seen this kind of violence that I see right now. And the people who are doing this kind of violence do not reside here. When the police come here those people are already underground in the shafts. They will only find us, the vulnerable,” a resident explains.
Video: Johannesburg MMC of Community Safety conducting raids in Riverlea
