Tebogo Msimanga |
The Police in Westenburg outside Polokwane have opened cases of murder after the bodies of four(4) Lesotho nationals, believed to be illegal miners, were found at different spots in the bushes on the Roedepoort farm on Monday 26 September 2022 and Tuesday,27 September 2022.
The Police received information on Tuesday about an incident in which suspected illegal miners were shot dead by unknown suspects on a farm under Westenburg policing area.
Limpopo Police spokesperson Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo said on arrival on the said farm, they found the body of a man lying next to the pathway. He was later identified as a 37-year-old man from Lesotho. The search continued until it was later called off for the night.
“The operatives resumed the search operation and three more bodies were found in the area next to the illegal mining site. It appears they were all shot at whilst fleeing from the attackers. The three are also Lesotho nationals”.
Mojalefa added that preliminary police investigations indicate that a group of illegal miners from Lesotho and Zimbabwe were sitting around the fire next to an illegal mining shaft in the area on Sunday morning when a group of Sesotho-speaking suspects, armed with pistols, allegedly accosted them and robbed them of their cellphones and money. They then ran in different directions. The suspects were in the process, allegedly firing shots at them.
The motive for the incident is unknown at this stage but conflict amongst illegal miners (Zama-Zamas) cannot be ruled out.
