Residents of the Soul City informal settlement in Kagiso on Gauteng’s West Rand are pleading for help because they say they’re being terrorised by illegal miners.
Four suspected illegal miners were shot and killed by other suspected illegal miners in the settlement over the weekend. Three others were rushed to a nearby hospital.
Residents say they are living in constant fear.
Last year President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the deployment of soldiers to boost police efforts in tackling illegal mining.
Gender activist and Soul City resident Lydia Nawa says, “Things are getting worse and worse every day. Because our fear now is when these people are shooting each other like this, it will come to in terms of maybe coming to our home, raping us and the kids. We are living in fear every day. Some of our kids, they were writing exams; couldn’t even, you know study. Then there is a gunshot, we need to be under the bed, and then we need to switch off our light. So, really, the situation here is out of hand. The only thing the government can do is to deal with the Zama Zamas. Our lives are in danger.”
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