Violence by illegal gold miners in South Africa forces families to leave homes

Hundreds of people have fled their homes in the Sporong informal settlement near the gold mining town of Randfontein in South Africa.

All is quiet in the once bustling community with few opting to stay on amid relentless violence, intimidation, and threats linked to illegal miners operating in the area.

Resident Miami Chauke, who has a bullet lodged in his leg, is one of those who did not flee the gun attacks.

"We really don't know what they are looking for. There's no money, but they still shoot at us, they take even the little that we have,” he said.

The Sporong families are now living in a local community hall in Randfontein, with the police saying they will step up operations to flush out the illegal miners, known as Zama Zamas.

Julian Mameng, who is one of those camping at the hall, said the situation was “very very hectic” in the informal settlement.

"Zama Zamas are coming each and every day. They are shooting at us, killing people, raping children, and taking our belongings."

So, despite cramped and poor conditions at the hall, residents said they will not return home until officials guarantee their safety.

"No one of us is deciding to go back, and we won't go back. The ammunition that the guys have, they are heavily armed those guys," said Mameng.

He said the illegal miners are after the riches they believe lie in the ground beneath their humble homes.

“The zama zamas say our place is rich in gold, we are staying on top of money, and that is why they are killing us, using the gun to scare us away," he said.

Local leaders have called for the army to be sent in.

Illegal mining has been linked to organised crime, assassinations, and extortion, leading the government to launch a nationwide crackdown some 2 years ago.

The South African Human Rights Commission says the Sporong situation reflects a broader and troubling pattern experienced by many mining-affected communities.

The clandestine artisanal miners, many from neighbouring countries, have become an entrenched presence in the shantytowns that ring Johannesburg and its satellite settlements along the gold reef.

Driven by poverty and unemployment, the zama zamas descend deep into still gold-bearing shafts abandoned by mining companies or dig out new ones.