SOUTH African security teams, including the police and army, have been accused of pouring inflammable liquid and setting alight an area where illegal miners had sought refuge to escape arrest, reportedly leading to the death of nearly a dozen of them.
Some of the illegal miners, known as zama zamas in that country, reportedly drowned or were scorched to death in a swamp near the Daggafontein Mine dump in Springs, east of Johannesburg, in Gauteng province, after a police raid on Monday morning.
The raid, led by the police and South African National Defence Forces (SANDF), was part of the ongoing Operation Vala uMgodi focused on stopping illegal mining activities.
The security agents, according to reports, set the reeds in the swamp on fire to force the miners out of hiding and shot fleeing miners with rubber bullets.
In a statement, Ekurhuleni police said the fire was ignited by “unknown people”.
“On Monday August 26, 2024, in the morning, Operation Vala Umgodi multi-disciplinary team comprising members from the SAPS [South Africa Police Services], SANDF, EMDP [Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department], among others, conducted a disruptive operation in Springs, near Daggafontein informal settlement, where there are illegal mining activities,” Brigadier Brenda Muridili told NewsDay from her base yesterday.
“It is reported that when the illegal miners saw the police, they fled in different directions. Some of them ended up in the nearby dam surrounded by reed grass, which was then set alight by an unknown person.”
Muridili said Springs police responded to the call about the fire, where a man was declared dead on the scene, while eight others were taken to hospital.
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“Of the eight, three have since been discharged. Three are still being treated for burn wounds, while two are reported to be in a critical condition.
“All the victims, reported to be illegal immigrants, have been identified and a case of inquest has been registered for now.
“Following allegations by the local community that the Operation Vala Umgodi members were responsible for the fire, the detectives have informed the Independent Police Investigative Directorate to probe those allegations.”
Scrolla Africa, a mobile news outlet, which visited the scene, said some illegal miners interviewed said of the more than 500 illegal miners at the gold-rich site, two of their colleagues were badly burnt and two died.
A survivor, who did not want to be named, described the scene as something out of a war movie, reported Scrolla Africa.
It quoted an illegal miner saying the security “wanted to kill us, and they succeeded. I’ve been an illegal miner since 2007, but I’ve never seen anything like this”.
The survivor said he was saved by his swimming skills, which helped him to escape, adding that the swamp was muddy, with only a small part being water and reeds.
The reports said when the fire spread, the survivors wrapped their arms with jackets and tried to float to safety while those stuck in the middle of the swamp were either burnt to death or drowned.
“We begged the soldiers to call for help, but they did not care. Even when the police came back yesterday, they did not bring divers or search the swamp for bodies,” the survivors.
A woman, whose video appeared on social media, said the number of deaths could run into dozens, considering that the illegal miners were caught unawares.
Officials from the Zimbabwean embassy said they were not aware of the incident.
