SIYABONGA SITHOLE
Johannesburg - The police have confirmed the death of six people, suspected to be illegal miners, in the disused mining shafts around the West Rand who were found with gunshot wounds.
Following the murders, which allegedly happened early on Wednesday, police said they were investigating a case of six counts of murder, with the motive yet to be determined. The number of bodies discovered has since jumped to seven.
Traffic towards Roodepoort on the N1 was slightly affected on Wednesday morning following the discovery of the bodies as police combed the scene.
Speaking to the media, Gauteng police spokesperson Brenda Muridili said they were yet to determine the cause of death but suspect the victims were involved in illegal mining, which is rife in the area.
Muridili added that the police were yet to determine the nationalities of the victims as the investigation had just commenced.
“Police are still combing the scene for clues as to the cause of their death. We are yet to determine the cause of death and the nationalities of the victims. We do suspect that these are illegal miners who might have been involved in illegal mining activities in the area,” Muridili said.
The death of the miners comes over a month since the police promised to close down some of the illegal mines used by zama zamas in the area.
In July, after eight young women were raped by a group of zama zamas, the police descended on the West Rand and dispatched a special police contingent to the area to close down some of the mines.
Muridili said police efforts in this regard were ongoing, with communication between the police in South Africa and those in other SADC countries. The illegal miners and other criminals are said to be from Lesotho and neighbouring countries.
“We are always working with the police in Lesotho and other countries as and when there are cases of their people being investigated for criminal activities in the country. We have been also been engaging with Interpol on some of these cases,” she said.
“There are warrants of arrests that have been issued and processed through Interpol. We are in constant communication with them, but regarding this case, we are still in the early stages of investigation and we do not know the nationalities of the deceased,” she said.
She said the police would be investigating six counts of murder and the motive would be be determined during the course of the investigation.
According to the police, Gauteng has more than 600 unclosed mineshafts that they are working towards closing down.
“For now the situation has been stabilised to some level. But those special forces have been operating according to crime analysis patterns and going to all areas affected by illegal mining, which are complemented by the deployment of forces from the national department of police,” she said.
The Star