Riverlea Tense as Heavy Police Presence Maintained

There is a heavy police presence in Riverlea as the situation remains tense in the area, following protests by the community sparked by the killing of about five illegal miners at the weekend. Police believe the violence is related to a turf war between rival zama zamas in the area.

Also read: Zama Zamas Take Over Riverlea – Safety Concerns

According to SABC News, the community has also accused the illegal miners of terrorising the residents and contributing to increased crime in the area. A resident who lives across from the Zamimpilo informal settlement (she asked not to be identified due to fear for her safety) has described a life of terror in the area. She mentioned, “Your daily life is fear, you stay in your house locked up the whole day, kids get picked up to go to school, they get dropped off – they don’t go out. By 5 o’clock, we’re all inside – we don’t go nowhere. That’s how fearful we are.”

Furthermore, she added, “Because I used to work with CPF, we used to patrol the area, and from the 25th of every month, the shooting gets worse. There’s shooting during the month, but coming month-end, the shooting gets worse – that is why Saturday night it was like that.”

Also read:

Gauteng Government Urges Military Deployment Against Illegal Miners

Picture: Twitter / PublicSafetyMMC

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