Gauteng cracks down on illegal mining as SANDF troops deployed to restore law and order
Military support mobilised as province moves to dismantle organised illegal mining syndicates and restore community safety
Gauteng is stepping up its fight against illegal mining, with the Gauteng Provincial Legislature Portfolio Committee on Community Safety welcoming the deployment of the South African National Defence Force to reinforce police operations across the province.
The decisive move was announced by Cyril Ramaphosa during the State of the Nation Address in Cape Town last week, signalling a stronger, coordinated response to what authorities describe as a deeply entrenched criminal enterprise.
“This firm intervention…underscores the gravity of the crisis and the urgent necessity for a coordinated, robust response to dismantle highly organised criminal syndicates that have terrorised communities and undermined the rule of law,” the committee said in a statement.
Communities under siege as government escalates response
Illegal mining has evolved far beyond opportunistic digging. According to the committee, it has become a highly organised operation linked to violence, intimidation and widespread community destabilisation.
During a recent unannounced oversight visit to Bekkersdal Police Station, lawmakers heard disturbing accounts of Zama zamas intimidating residents and fuelling violent crime.
“During a recent unannounced oversight visit to the Bekkersdal Police Station, the committee received deeply disturbing reports of Zama zamas [illegal miners] intimidating residents, perpetrating violent crimes and holding entire communities’ hostage through fear and lawlessness.
“Equally alarming are reports that more than 600 families were allegedly forced to flee their homes in Randfontein as a result of escalating violence linked to illegal mining activities, with displaced residents compelled to seek refuge in community halls.
“The committee reiterates that illegal mining is not a minor or isolated offence. It is an entrenched, organised criminal enterprise that endangers lives, destroys infrastructure, destabilises communities and erodes public confidence in the state’s ability to protect its citizens,” the statement said.
The scale of displacement and fear has intensified calls for a more forceful, multi-agency strategy. The committee has repeatedly argued that policing alone is not enough to dismantle sophisticated syndicates operating across abandoned mine shafts and informal settlements.
The committee said a “more aggressive, integrated, multi-agency approach is required to decisively confront and eradicate this criminal menace”.
“In this regard, the deployment of the SANDF represents a critical and long-overdue intervention – one that the committee has repeatedly recommended.
“The committee is confident that this decisive action will significantly strengthen law-enforcement operations, restore safety and stability in affected areas as well as send a clear and unequivocal message that criminality will not be tolerated in Gauteng.
“The [committee] will closely monitor the implementation and impact of the SANDF deployment and remains committed to working with all spheres of government to ensure that Gauteng is decisively reclaimed from illegal mining and that communities are able to live free from fear, violence and intimidation,” the statement concluded.
For communities that have lived under the shadow of intimidation and violence, the presence of SANDF soldiers represents more than additional boots on the ground. It signals a renewed commitment to restoring order, rebuilding trust in state institutions and reclaiming neighbourhoods from criminal control.
As operations intensify, authorities face the complex challenge of dismantling illegal mining networks while protecting vulnerable residents.
The coming months will reveal whether this coordinated intervention can deliver lasting stability and reinforce Gauteng’s commitment to safety, security and the rule of law.
