Skip to main content

South African police continue arrests after mass shooting at a pub

Johannesburg (AP) — Police in South Africa on Wednesday said they had arrested 11 people, including many suspected of being illegal miners, and were seeking a potential connection to Sunday’s shooting at a pub that killed 10 people.

In search for illegal miners in the area, police and Sibanye-Stillwater mine security stormed two houses in Westonaria, 46 kilometers (39 miles) outside Johannesburg. Nine citizens of Lesotho and one Mozambican, thought to be living in South Africa illegally, were among those arrested. Police said they were found with unlicensed firearms, including four handguns and an AK-47 rifle.

Maj. Gen. Fred Kekana, acting provincial commissioner of Gauteng, told reporters that police had found cartridges and live ammunition of the “same type” of firearms at the shooting scene in Bekkersdal. They were sent for testing to determine if they were used in the shooting.

Authorities also arrested a South African mine employee who faces charges related to harboring tenants living in the country illegally and potentially defeating the ends of justice. On Tuesday, the pub’s owner was charged with fraud and operating an illegal liquor outlet.

Surrounded by abandoned mine shafts, townships west of Johannesburg like Bekkersdal are notorious for illicit mining operations, which have led to problems including gang violence and the proliferation of illegal firearms.

Sibanye-Stillwater operates several significant operations in the region.

In areas where the mining industry once thrived, illegal miners known as “zama-zamas” have continued to operate. The trade is believed to be predominantly controlled by migrants who illegally enter from Lesotho, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique.

Beijing bans 4 New Zealand lawmakers from entering China because they visited Taiwan

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Beijing banned four New Zealand lawmakers from traveling to China for a year and demanded they apologize because they visited Taiwan on a parliamentary trip, according to a message from the Chinese embassy conveyed via parliamentary officials and shown to The Associated Press on Thursday. China has hit lawmakers from other countries with sanctions related to contact with Taiwan before, but it's the first time for New Zealand parliamentarians, the government in Wellington said. Beijing has been increasing pressure in recent years on the democratically governed island that it claims as its own territory. Two lawmakers reached by the AP on Thursday rejected the demand for an apology, while the other two could not be immediately reached. New Zealand's government said it would express concern about the travel bans to Beijing. The elected officials visited Taipei in May, as New Zealand parliamentarians have done “for decades,” a spokesperson for Foreign Minister Winston Peters said in a statement.
Read Next Story