Frustrated residents of Riverlea, Johannesburg, have vowed to continue with their protests until police Minister Bheki Cele comes to address them about the scourge of illegal mining in their area. This comes after police discovered five bodies of alleged zama zamas in the open field in the area on Sunday. It's alleged that the deceased were killed in a turf war. Residents took to the streets on Monday morning blocking Main Reef Road with burning tyres and rocks.

An angry community leader Njabulo Sekota said they don't feel safe in their own community because illegal miners have taken over. He said there are always gunshots fired especially at night. "There are people who come back from work around 6 pm and fear to walk or drive into their homes because zama zamas are shooting at each other within our community. We've reported this to the police six times already but they've never heeded our call," he said. He added that Bheki Cele needs to make sure that zama zamas are rooted out of their community because they can't be paying a bond to live under terror. "There have been so many incidents of people dying or getting injured because they got caught in the crossfire of these zama zama but that is not reported. However, we are very peaceful people and won't bother anyone with our protest we just need Cele to come through for us," he said. Another community member,who only wanted to be identified as a pastor, said they live a life of duck and dive. "We are scared and zama zamas have taken over our community. They are untouchable and the minute it starts to get dark they gather in groups of 20 and 30 and fill our streets. They start shooting randomly and even my three-year-old child says" Daddy the zama zamas have started shooting. This is a daily thing and not even our police station is able to deal with it. We need serious intervention," said the pastor.

The local ward councillor Theo Doyle, confirmed that the turf war amongst illegal miners have been going on for too long and it's beyond the control of their local police station. He added that he also resides in the area and has also engaged the owners of the Sasol garage because there are gas lines running within their communities. "It's frustrating because our house is built above gas lines and we also have a petrol station close by. So the minute these illegal miners blast we fear that one day the gas will explode and we won't have homes. There are Transnet lines running underground and an Engen Depo close by... It's just another disaster waiting to happen." He said zama zamas outnumber are more armed than them. "It's like Afghanistan on a weekly basis and it's getting worse by the day."

Police spokesperson Mavela Masondo said they responded to a shooting incident. "Preliminary investigations suggest that two rival groups of illegal miners were shooting at each in the area, and that led to the death of these people," said Masondo. Police have deployed members from the Tactical Response Team and Public Order Policing to monitor the area. A case of murder, with five counts, has been opened for investigation." Police have asked the public for their help in tracking down those responsible.