Senior police officials visited Bapong on Thursday after allegations of heavily armed zama zamas guarding illegal mining activity sites. Chairperson of the National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (Natjoints) and national deputy police commissioner Lt-Gen Tebello Mosikili dismissed the posts as misleading and false. “Those private security officials that you see in those pictures are actually valid security officials with valid psira accreditation.
They have been appointed by Bapo Ba Mogale to assist in stopping the illegal mining activities that have already led to loss of lives,” she said. “Emanating from a series of these meetings and engagements, it was resolved that the government, through the relevant departments, will continue to engage the tribal council on challenges they are facing relating to illegal mining activities,” she said. Mosikili said on October 30, the tribal council led by Kgosi Henry Mogale had apprised the SAPS that it would lead from the front by preventing ongoing illegal mining activities.
The tribal council had indicated it would be appointing a private security company to assist with fighting the illegal mining activities. She said on their fact-finding mission, they discovered that where illegal mining activities were taking place, homes were caving in. “There are no longer roads and they are even digging next to the graveyards.
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This is really posing a safety and security threat to our communities’ livelihoods.” Mosikili said communities were concerned that their lives were at risk. “Issues of illegal mining activities are quite complex and dangerous in nature because these are often undocumented, and heavily armed criminals, but we have managed to put a stop to these ongoing activities across the country,” she said.
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