[imagesource: The Sowetan]

Content warning: descriptions of sexual violence

Last Thursday, eight women were robbed and repeatedly gang raped while filming a music video at a disused mine at West Village in Krugersdorp.

Illegal miners in the area are the prime suspects and police, during raids using a drone, helicopters, and intelligence destroyed illegal mining equipment and made more than 120 arrests.

Law enforcement has appealed to local communities to let them do their jobs, but there is no trust between the people of this country and those we are supposed to rely on to protect us.

The investigation into the illegal mining and gang rapes is already giving off warning signs.

Residents of Kagiso, a township situated in Krugersdorp, have now taken the law into their own hands and are targeting illegal miners (or zama zamas) in mob justice attacks.

News24 reports on yesterday’s manhunt focused on mine dumps:

Groups of residents closed more than 10 holes with rocks, where they claimed illegal miners were hiding. Before noon, locals found more than 20 men believed to be illegal miners.

They stripped them naked and whipped them with sjamboks…

Image: Guillem Sartorio / AFP]

At a different area in Kagiso, two men were badly beaten in full view of high-ranking officials.

The deputy national commissioner, Lieutenant-General Tebello Mosikili, could not account as to why police officers on the scene did not intervene.

She called the incident “unfortunate” and readily admitted that police are “overwhelmed”.

Footage showed some men stripped naked with the community watching on:

The community know exactly where these people live and operate so all we need is the police to assist and stop shooting the community with rubber bullets. No one is vandalising any shops or burning buildings. @eNCA#KagisoShutDown #Kagiso #Krugersdorp #ZamaZamas #illegalminers pic.twitter.com/oTcgIgtTkE

— Kayrol🍍 (@kayrol__) August 4, 2022

Multiple videos showed residents nabbing alleged illegal miners and handing them over to police:

The defiant and angry residents of Kagiso united to chase out everyone whom they suspected of illegal mining.

FULL STORY: https://t.co/bHE2MCGYog | @ScrollaAfrica#KagisoShutDown #kagiso pic.twitter.com/INmg5LU3ap

— BEAST OF NEWS (@EversonLuhanga) August 5, 2022

Two alleged Zama Zamas were cornered, slightly beat, insulted and pulled down the street by Munsieville residents. The protests have spread across Krugersdorp.Just in a nick of time, police managed to put them at the back of the van #KagisoShutDown #Munsieville @TimesLIVE pic.twitter.com/WfRmPzDIlC

— Amper News Girl 🗞 (@KgaugeloKgaphol) August 5, 2022

Residents accused of harbouring illegal miners were also violently threatened, reports TimesLIVE:

Community members claimed the woman was pocketing from the illegal operations as she ran a tuck shop from a container outside her home where she sold food to the miners…

She narrowly escaped being attacked by the crowd when she collapsed during the confrontation, while her daughter quickly rushed to the scene and hurled insults at the mob.

The streets were littered with rocks and police were seen clashing with residents:

#Kagiso community members who have gathered in protest against Zama Zama’s say police are agitating them instead of controlling the crowd- most of which are learners from the area pic.twitter.com/IaPBlCp0iO

— Amper News Girl 🗞 (@KgaugeloKgaphol) August 4, 2022

For a community that says it has long suffered at the hands of illegal miners, they have reached breaking point.

Ineffective or nonexistent policing has led to a situation where taking matters into their own hands seems like the only way to make their community safer.

Sadly, as we saw in Cape Town recently, innocent parties will likely become caught up in the violence.

[sources:news24&timeslive]