The Star reports that the body of an alleged ‘zama zama’ (illegal miner), said to be Zimbabwean, has been found on the side of a main road in Riverlea.

A group of seven men, said to be friends of the deceased, were at the scene, waiting for the body of their “co-miner” to be fetched.  One of the men, who did not want to be identified, said he received a call from someone who phoned from a private number and informed him a body was “lying on the ground”, and he rushed to the scene.  The men said they had been waiting for the forensic team to arrive and have the body removed since 6am.  Five hours later, the body was still there.

David Mpofu, 36, a cousin of the deceased who resides in Soweto, Orlando, said he suspected that the reason authorities had taken so long to help was that they were foreigners.  “We just want a mortuary to fetch him because our lives are on hold right now and we can’t leave our own lying in the bush,” he said.

According to Mpofu, the dead man had seven children, and they were planning to bury him in Zimbabwe as soon as they had organised finances to make the necessary arrangements.

Constable Thumi Kraai said the SAPS received the alert only at 7am.  She said the man had not yet been identified and investigations were under way.  “No family came forward while we were at the scene,” she said.  “Maybe they were scared because chances are that they too are illegal miners.”

Kraai added that skull of the deceased had been fractured.  A post-mortem would be needed to establish the cause of death, she said.

The original of this report by Siphumelele Khumalo is on page 2 of The Star of 20 October 2017

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