Sunday Times reports that an intensifying turf war between groups of zama zamas is threatening the lives of residents who stay across from the Simmer and Jack Landfill in Germiston, Ekurhuleni.

Over the past few months, some of the residents have had to rely on security companies and community policing forum patrollers to escort them to their homes, as they fear for their lives due to daily gunshots. Natalie Meachan, a resident of Simmerfields suburbs about 60 metres from the landfill site, likens the area to a “little war zone”. She indicated: “They have these fights every other week or every second week. I am not sure what kind of guns they use, but they are very loud. They wake everybody at night when they are fighting in the dump site. It is not safe for any of us residents who are in the area. We are very scared, we don’t go outside when we hear them [gunshots]. We lock our doors, hide in the houses, that’s all we do — we can’t fight them either. On one occasion we saw a group of about 20 zama zamas fighting and shooting at each other and screaming.” Mike Robinson from Spider Tactical Response, a security company in the area, said the turf war had been going on for a few years, but had intensified in the past year. Robinson’s company is one of the security companies that escort residents to their homes. He said residents from Primrose and Simmerfields were the most affected. City of Ekurhuleni spokesperson Zweli Dlamini said it was a matter of concern and they had been working closely with the police to ensure they continued to patrol the area and monitor the situation.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Phathu Luvhengo at Sunday Times (subscriber access only)

Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page