By Enyichukwu Enemanna
Police in South Africa on Wednesday announced the arrest of 11 more persons, including those suspected to be involved in illegal mining, and were looking for a potential connection to the shooting in a tavern on Sunday, in which ten people were killed.
Police in a joint operation with Sibanye-Stillwater mine security while searching for illegal miners stormed two houses in Westonaria, 46 kilometers outside Johannesburg.
Nine citizens of Lesotho and one Mozambican suspected to be living in South Africa illegally, were among those arrested.
They were found with unlicensed firearms, including four handguns and an AK-47 rifle, the police said.
Maj. Gen. Fred Kekana, acting provincial commissioner of Gauteng, told reporters that police had found cartridges and live ammunition of the “same type” of firearms at the shooting scene in Bekkersdal.
They were sent for testing to determine if they were used in the shooting.
Authorities also arrested a South African mine employee who faces charges related to harbouring tenants living in the country illegally and potentially defeating the ends of justice.
On Tuesday, the owner of the tavern where the shooting occurred was charged with fraud and operating an illegal liquor outlet.
Surrounded by abandoned mine shafts, townships west of Johannesburg like Bekkersdal are notorious for illicit mining operations, which have led to problems including gang violence and the proliferation of illegal firearms, AP report says.
Sibanye-Stillwater is involved in several significant operations in the Bekkersdal region.
In areas where the mining industry once thrived, illegal miners known as “zama-zamas” have continued to operate.
The trade is believed to be predominantly controlled by migrants who illegally enter from Lesotho, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique.
