Gauteng is widely regarded as South Africa’s economic hub and is also home to a high concentration of illegal mining. Michael Sun, Democratic Alliance Gauteng provincial community safety front man, maintains 2 533 illegal mining operations have been identified across South Africa’s smallest province in the four-year 2022/26 period using information contained in a response to a provincial legislature question.
As per President Cyril Ramaphosa’s February State of the Nation Address (SONA), Gauteng is one of five provinces targeted by police and soldiers in an Operation Prosper deployment to curb illegal mining and gangsterism until March next year. Six SA Army units are activated for this specific Operation Prosper deployment with Reserve Force units the Solomon Mahlangu and Tshwane regiments initially allocated the Gauteng tasking.
That unit rotation happened was confirmed on Wednesday 22 July by a South African National Defence Force (SANDF) Directorate Corporate Communication (DCC) representative making known the names of four SA Army soldiers who died in Gauteng last week. Two – Lance Corporal S Luke and Private S Seti – were on the personnel strength of Tempe, Bloemfontein-base 1 Parachute Battalion. They, according to DCC, fell to their deaths in an abandoned mine shaft while in pursuit of illegal miners last Friday (17 July).
The other two soldiers – Private MJ Malebo (Solomon Mahlangu Regiment) and Private LA Gumede (21 SA Infantry Battalion) – were killed in vehicle crashes on Wednesday, 15 July, in Carletonville. The DCC statement does not indicate if they were on duty and/or died in the same crash.
All four are being honoured with a memorial service today (Thursday) at the Regina Mundi Catholic Church in Soweto.
At the time of writing DCC had still not responded to a DefenceWeb inquiry sent five days ago requesting details of a board of inquiry (BoI), standard SANDF procedure for fatalities and incidents involving military equipment.
In addition to condolences from Defence and Military Veterans Minister, Angie Motshekga; Secretary for Defence (SecDef) Bareng Mthimkhulu; and SANDF Chief, General Rudzani Maphwanya, expressions of sympathy came from United Democratic Movement (UDM) President Bantu Holomisa, also a deputy minister and Molefi ‘Dakota’ Legoete, Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans (PCDMV) chair.
The Holomisa statement on the deaths reads in part: “The tragedy draws renewed attention to the serious dangers associated with illegal mining and the continued existence of unsecured and abandoned mine shafts across the country”.
Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) representative on the Portfolio Committee on Defence and Military Veterans and the Joint Standing Committee on Defence Carl Niehaus expressed condolences on the passing of the SANDF members, saying their deaths are a stark reminder of the dangers faced by South Africa’s security forces daily.
He said that while the EFF supports the objectives of Operation Prosper in restoring law and order, dismantling illegal mining networks, and reclaiming sovereignty over mineral resources, the deaths of the soldiers exposes “deep and systemic failures in the planning, coordination, training, and support provided to our deployed forces.”
The EFF has called for comprehensive, mandatory pre-deployment training that includes joint SANDF-SAPS exercises focused on illegal mining operations as well as proper personal protective equipment, specialised gear for confined and hazardous spaces, and close coordination with mining rescue experts.
“The treacherous terrain of abandoned mine shafts…requires specialised skills far beyond standard military or police training. Senior officers and parliamentary committees have acknowledged that both SANDF and SAPS members are not properly equipped or trained for these environments. Yet deployments continue without the necessary joint training programmes, mine safety protocols, underground navigation skills, emergency response capabilities, and comprehensive risk assessments that could prevent such heartbreaking losses,” Niehaus said.
He added that the substantial budget allocated to Operation Prosper must translate into dignified living conditions, adequate nutrition, proper training, life-saving equipment, and robust inter-agency coordination.
“Illegal mining is not a victimless crime. It endangers surrounding communities, undermines the rule of law, damages the environment and enables organised criminal networks. It also exposes members of the SANDF, the SA Police Service (SAPS) and other security personnel to extremely hazardous conditions.”
Sun used a written reply by Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi to a provincial legislature question to illustrate the extent to which Gauteng is being invaded by zama-zamas. He terms illegal mining in Gauteng an “escalating crisis” and uses Lesufi’s response to justify this call. The provincial premier’s written reply to Sun’s question reads in part: “The number of identified illegal mining operations more than doubled from 379 in 2022/2023 to 811 in 2025/2026 – a 114% increase in four and a half years. Overall, 2 533 illegal mining operations were identified across Gauteng during this period”.
“Even more concerning is illegal miners are currently exploiting 614 disused mines across the province. These include 317 in Ekurhuleni, 149 in Johannesburg, 147 on the West Rand and one in Sedibeng. During the same period, police arrested 1 203 suspects, of whom 1 144 (approximately 95%) were undocumented foreign nationals.”
The DA provincial public representative has it illegal mining is “a sophisticated criminal enterprise that continues to expand across the province and poses serious security risks”. He proposes a dedicated anti-illegal mining task team to dismantle criminal enterprises backing the zama-zamas through intelligence driven operations. The task team should include police, the intelligence services, prosecutors and inspectors and co-ordinate with national departments, municipalities and the mining sector to curb illegal mining.
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