In the town of Orkney North West, illegal mining is a huge setback threatening the town of its livelihood due to Zama zamas taking over the abandoned mines.

A shootout between the  zama zamas security officials and the Orkney police, took place on a Thursday afternoon during what was believed to be passing of food and water by securities to the illegal miners underground, while police were doing their usual rounds of check-up around the area.

The incident left six suspected illegal miners killed during the shootout. Such activity has become a norm for the community of Orkney, the sound of gunshots, corpse openly lying on the veld and the smell of dead people, is an everyday thing for the town. A few months back the body count exceeded the usual expected number.

A while back it was televised and reported on every media when 20 illegal miners in a mine shaft, died in suspected gas explosion. Their bodies were placed out near the road in body bags for a passer-by to see, with luck the police came across the labelled body bags with names while doing their daily routine rounds in the area.

The municipality came to assist and contacted the family members of the dead illegal miners using the details placed on each body bag. Although some of the bodies were beyond recognition they were able to be identified with the help of DNA and family members identifying certain features.

Zama zamas has been a huge issue tough to tackle, the community of Orkney say they wish for a permanent solution as now the illegal miners end up taking lives, they fight out in public. Earlier in the year zama zamas were gun fighting at a gas station, leaving the public with terror and injuries. Even though some survived the incident, two peopled succumbed to their injuries while hospitalised.