{"id":49474,"date":"2026-02-09T02:29:03","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T02:29:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/?p=49474"},"modified":"2026-02-09T02:29:03","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T02:29:03","slug":"illegal-miners-shot-killed-gun-battle-police-carletonville","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/2026\/02\/09\/illegal-miners-shot-killed-gun-battle-police-carletonville\/","title":{"rendered":"Two illegal miners shot and killed in gun battle with police in Carletonville"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<p><h2>The suspects were identified as Basotho nationals. <\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Two illegal miners, also known as zama zamas, have been killed in a shootout with police on the West Rand.<\/p>\n<p>It is understood that the gun battle occurred on Sunday morning in Carletonville.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-intelligence\">Intelligence<\/h2>\n<p>Police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said the South African National Police Services (Saps) National Intervention Unit(NIU) led an intelligence-driven operation when they encountered the zama zamas.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cInformation they had received indicated that there were illegal miners in possession of a large consignment of unlicensed firearms and ammunition.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUpon arrival at the targeted house at around 04:00 on Sunday morning,\u00a0 members observed suspects attempting to flee by jumping out through windows. The suspects immediately opened fire on police officers and members responded accordingly,\u201d Mathe said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"515\" height=\"684\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4320035\" style=\"width:330px;height:auto\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Two-illegal-miners-shot-and-killed-in-gun-battle-with.jpg?resize=515%2C684&#038;ssl=1\"\/><noscript><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"515\" height=\"684\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Two-illegal-miners-shot-and-killed-in-gun-battle-with.jpg?resize=515%2C684&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4320035\" style=\"width:330px;height:auto\"\/><\/noscript><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>ALSO READ: One kidnapping suspect dead, two arrested in Eastern Cape<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-gunfight\">Gunfight<\/h3>\n<p>Mathe said a prolonged exchange, estimated to be two hours of gunfire, ensued between the suspects and police.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs a result of the confrontation, two illegal miners were declared dead at the scene, two AK47s, two pistols and ammunition were seized.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-surveillance\">Surveillance<\/h3>\n<p>Mathe said that despite the high risk and intensity of the operation, no police officers were injured.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe suspects identified as Basotho nationals are assessed as extremely dangerous and pose a threat to public safety, as they showed no hesitation in engaging police.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPolice continue to conduct surveillance operations in the area to apprehend those that ran into bushes,\u201d Mathe said.<\/p>\n<p>Investigations are continuing.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"386\" height=\"686\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4320039\" style=\"width:253px;height:auto\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1770604141_988_Two-illegal-miners-shot-and-killed-in-gun-battle-with.jpg?resize=386%2C686&#038;ssl=1\"\/><noscript><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"386\" height=\"686\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1770604141_988_Two-illegal-miners-shot-and-killed-in-gun-battle-with.jpg?resize=386%2C686&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4320039\" style=\"width:253px;height:auto\"\/><\/noscript><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-wiandre-pretorius\">Wiandre Pretorius<\/h3>\n<p>Meanwhile, police have registered an inquest docket after Wiandre Pretorius, who was implicated in Witness D\u2019s testimony before the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry, took his own life.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s alleged that the 41-year-old shot himself at a petrol filling station in Brakpan on the East Rand on Saturday, 7 February 2026.<\/p>\n<p>According to the Saps, the incident unfolded in the presence of his partner, a police sergeant, following a dispute.<\/p>\n<p>The exact circumstances of his death is being investigated.<\/p>\n<p><strong>ALSO READ: Six killed in Meyerton shooting, three suspects arrested<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<h3>Support Local Journalism<\/h3>\n<p>Add The Citizen as a Preferred Source on Google and follow us on Google News to see more of our trusted reporting in Google News and Top Stories.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n#illegal #miners #shot #killed #gun #battle #police #Carletonville<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The suspects were identified as Basotho nationals. Two illegal miners, also known as zama zamas, have been killed in a&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":49475,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mzansi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49474","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49474"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49474\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49476,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49474\/revisions\/49476"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/49475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}