‘We are not safe from zama zamas and cannot speak out, they have informers,’ say residents

The community of Nomzamo Park in Orlando East, where 16 people were killed by gunmen who ambushed patrons at the Mdlalose Tavern, say police were only visible for three to four days following the incident and were never seen again.

Following the mass shooting, Police Minister Bheki Cele said he would deploy a technical response team, Amaberete, in the area. But residents said this has not been the case. The residents said they were constantly living in fear as no one has yet been arrested following the shooting.

“The streets are empty at 8pm because people are scared. Seeing a Quantum with people at night has become one of the scariest things. It would be better if someone was arrested but no one has been arrested and we do not know if these people are still going to come back,” one resident said.

“Even those who were shot in the tavern, they had done nothing, so this might happen to anyone. We are disappointed because the minister promised us that Amaberete would be deployed but they were only here for three to four days and that was it. In the days they were here, they were searching and hitting people.”

Another resident who did not want to be named said they have been calling for Amaberete to be deployed for a long time, but their calls fell on deaf ears.

“We are used to gunshots in this area. This place is not safe. We had asked for Amaberete from our street committees before the incident happened but we were never listened to. We are disappointed and angry that the Amaberete which were meant to deal with the issues faced by the community were barely here.”

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A mother whose son was injured during the shooting said she was not sure if her child will ever be able to walk again.

“He was recently released from the hospital. His hand and leg were operated on,” she said, also requesting anonymity.

“He can’t even walk and we do not know if he’ll ever be able to walk again. It pains me what happened to my child and I’m struggling to make peace with it, more especially when I see the condition my child is in.”

Meanwhile, in the West Rand, specialised SA Police Service units were deployed from Monday to deal with the zama zama issue. However, residents of those areas say they have not seen any changes.

Police spokesperson Brigadier Brenda Muridili said, in regards to Orlando, that police were “deployed according to the crime analysis patterns, therefore they were not only concentrated in Nomzamo, they were operating in the whole precinct”.

“West Rand deployments are not for police visibility in the communities. These specialised units are not deployed there for day-today policing,” Muridili said.

“They are there specifically to clamp down on illegal mining and to search out illegal miners from their hideouts. They are guided by crime intelligence as well as information they receive from the communities with regards to the whereabouts of illegal miners.”

Residents of Bhongweni, Randfontein, said they had seen little to no police visibility in the area and zama zamas were continuing to terrorising them.

A resident who did not want to be named said on Tuesday a helicopter had been hovering around the nearby abandoned mine with other police searching the bushes, accompanied by dogs. He said, despite this, they still did not feel safe, as the zama zamas come out at night to terrorise them.

“The police were only here on Tuesday morning and in the afternoon. Around 6pm, the zama zamas came out from the mines to buy alcohol and food from the tuck shop. We also started to hear gunshots coming from the same mine the police were searching at in the morning and afternoon,” he said.

“We are not safe here; no one is outside from 7pm. The zama zamas have informers and girlfriends within the community and it is difficult to even talk about this issue because we fear that we might be killed. The police should search every house and demand to see passports, otherwise they are wasting their time.”

A resident from West Village in Krugersdorp voiced the same sentiments, saying police were only visible yesterday morning but they have yet to see them at night doing operations in the abandoned mines.

“We saw them going to the mines and the bushes but the previous night we heard gunshots like we usually do. People live in fear and no one wants to speak about the terror we are living under because they fear they might be killed by these zama zamas.”

Meanwhile, 14 of the 81 suspects who were arrested in Krugersdorp last week were allegedly positively linked to the rape of eight women after appearing in court. According to reports, an identity parade was conducted where the suspects were identified by the victims through photographs.

– lungam@citizen.co.za; additional reporting Devina Haripersad