The men were arrested in an abandoned mine after the rape and robbery near the abandoned mine. The suspects are said to be illegal miners known as zama-zamas who dig for gold in the many closed mines in the Johannesburg area. Many of the miners are foreigners, according to local reports. The zama-zama gangs of illegal miners are also blamed for widespread crime in the area, according to locals. The gang-rape occurred when a crew shooting a music video in one of the abandoned mines was attacked by armed men on Thursday last week, police said. “The 22-person crew – 12 women and 10 men – were busy filming a music video when they were allegedly attacked by a group of armed men dressed in blankets,” said police commissioner for Gauteng province, Lt Gen Elias Mawela. statement. “The suspects ordered everyone to lie down and proceeded to rape eight of the women and robbed everyone of their belongings before fleeing the scene,” he said. All of the studio’s video equipment was stolen. Police were investigating 32 cases of rape, he said. Laboratory studies of DNA samples from the raped women will be used to identify the perpetrators, national police minister Becky Sele said on Monday. Others arrested are expected to face additional charges of illegal immigration and illegal mining. More than 300 people demonstrated outside the Krugersdorp court on Monday to express their anger at the rapes. News of gang-rapes and robberies has angered the community and women’s organizations in the area, which have complained that such incidents are rife around Krugersdorp. “We will demand that the police station be put under administration because the community has reported many crimes committed by the zama-zamas, but nothing has been done,” said Zandile Dabula, secretary general of Operation Dudula, a protesting organization. against illegal immigrants in South Africa and participated in the protest outside the courthouse. “It is clear that they are failing to tackle crime in this area, so they should be put under management,” Dambula said.
