State brings new charges against 87 illegal miners

The state has brought new charges against 87 alleged illegal miners, also known as zama-zamas, in the Stilfontein Regional Court in the North West province.

The matter was moved to 6 April 2022 for further investigations after the miners’ defence attorney requested a postponement to negotiate with the state on undisclosed aspects of the case.

The National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) Henry Mamothame said the state has also drawn new charges against the miners, who are all in police custody, after they abandoned bail owing to their illegal status in South Africa.

“They are now charged with six counts of murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, conspiracy to commit robbery, illegal mining, possession of automatic firearms, attempted murder and contravening the immigration act.”

During a previous court appearance, the court heard that the accused were all foreign nationals and had no legal documents to be in South Africa.

The 87 suspected illegal miners were handcuffed in Orkney in the North West on 20 October last year following a shootout with members of the Special Task Force, assisted by the Hawks Organised Crime unit, during an intelligence-driven operation.

Police reports indicate that eight of the accused were wounded, six fatally, during the shootout.

Following the shootout, police discovered two mini-buses, illegal mining paraphernalia, gold-bearing material, eleven illegal firearms and bags of food.

The suspects have been remanded in police custody until the matter is finalised.

In February, Boksburg police arrested 11 suspected illegal miners, with one suspect fatally wounded, after a shootout in Ekurhuleni.

According to reports, police received a complaint of a person that had been shot in an open field in Boksburg.

It was alleged that as police units started approaching the suspects, and the armed group began firing gunshots at the police, and a shootout ensued.

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