Zama zama gangs may need more than army boots on the ground

The go-to solution for many of our politicians – for serious crime or a law and order breakdown – is to call for the SA Army to be deployed.

Given what is happening now in Germiston, parts of which are a battleground between rival zama zama, or illegal miner, gangs, even ordinary troops may not be enough.

The fusillades of gunfire echoing across Primose Hill day and night indicate that the zama zamas are carrying military-style assault weapons – and that is something that no ordinary cop patrol, in its soft-skinned bakkie with puny 9mm pistols, is equipped to deal with.

After watching a video of zama zamas fighting on a mound at a landfill site in Primrose Hill, defence expert Helmoed-Römer Heitman is convinced the situation requires a response beyond normal policing.

He suggested the police’s Special Task Force, with either an air wing helicopter as spotter, or drones, reinforced with people from the intervention unit, might be needed – and, if necessary, they could be supported by soldiers from the army.

We wonder if any of those in the security decision-making structures are aware that there are those from Lesotho – where most zama zamas originate – who have military, as well as mining, experience.

In 1998, South Africa found that out the hard way when it deployed troops to Lesotho as part of a Southern African Development Community-mandated action to quell post-election violence.

That there was “unexpectedly” stiff resistance from some in the Lesotho Defence Force puts it mildly.

What should have been a military “walk in the park” for the South Africans left 11 of their soldiers dead and others wounded.

If military force – of whatever kind – is deployed on the East Rand, it needs to be accompanied by thorough planning and support.

We cannot afford parts of our country to become zama zama “liberated zones”.