The displacement of about 400 families allegedly byzama zamaswho terrorised a community in an informal settlement is a sad reminder of the crisis of policing and lawlessness that needs urgent attention. We report today that a group of about 600 people fled their homes in the Sporong informal settlement and have been squatting at a community hall in Randfontein on the West Rand for almost two weeks. The Sporong residents say they were forced to leave their homes with only a few belongings due to escalating gun violence in the area and being extorted by alleged zama zama gangs.
These residents include school-going children and infants whose lives have been abruptly disrupted and their homes left abandoned. The 600 people are now forced to share two toilets and are relying on good Samaritans to provide them with food, as they are mostly unemployed. The residents told this newspaper that they have been terrorised by criminal gangs who rob them with guns and demand to be paid protection fees by tuckshop owners.
The gangs also allegedly demand that locals pay “rental” money to continue to live in the area. According to the residents, several spaza shop owners were driven out of the area due to violence by gangs targeting them for extortion. Now that the group of residents have also since fled the area, the question is who is next to be targeted by the alleged gangs.
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That the community that has been living in fear of the gangs have decided to leave their furniture and other belongings at their homes suggests that they have been failed by the state or have lost trust in the police to do anything about their safety. This is a recurring problem. In 2022, after the horrific rapes of women at a mine dump in Krugersdorp, similar fears were heard from residents of West Village, some of whom were also displaced from their homes by zama zama violence.
Following the public outcry then, the government launched a law enforcement blitz on all zama zama activities, including deploying the army in known hotspots, in line with its duty to protect its citizens. Did the coordinated raids aimed at ridding informal settlements of illegal miners fizzle out, and if so, why? If we are to rid this country of crime, policing cannot be a once-off event.
It needs sustained effort and cooperation from all citizens to build safer communities. The people of Sporong and elsewhere whose safety has been threatened deserve protection from their government.
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