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Illegal miners or zama zamas
Police Provincial Head for Corporate Communication and Liaison in Limpopo Hlulani Mashaba has urged residents to report incidents where police are colluding with illegal miners.
Some residents in the Sekhukhune District in Limpopo say illegal mining is continuing unabated. Community members in areas such as Ga-Nkoana believe that little is being done by the police to curb illegal mining#MorningLive#SABCNews
— SABCNews_MorningLive (@MorningLiveSABC) May 3, 2026
This comes as residents urged government to urgently deploy the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to curb illegal mining.
“If there are allegations of any wrongdoing from our very own members, people must come to us and report these matters so that we are able to act decisively without fear of favor, that we will do without fail, where we are sitting any rogue element within the police cannot be condoned. Hence we are going to deal decisively with any act of wrongdoing decisively but we are calling upon our communities to report these matters to the police they cannot sit with information knowing that colluding with criminals or illegal miners.”
Meanwhile, some residents in Sekhukhune say illegal mining is continuing unabated, they believe that little is being done by the police to curb the problem. The spokesperson of the Ga-Nkoana Royal Council, Sekwati Phasha says the community wants the SANDF, which was deployed in the area two years ago, to be brought back.
“When they were here, all these illegal foreigners were gone, so the visibility of soldiers is important to the community. However, the issue is that they are not here permanently which is why we find ourselves having the same problem over and over. Our police are not helping instead they help illegal miners and escort trucks carrying chrome at night.
VIDEO | Illegal mining creating chaos in parts of Limpopo
