Pretoria - Seven illegal miners who were arrested during raids in Krugersdorp have appeared in court on Wednesday where they were charged with rape, following the gang rape of eight women in the area.
The suspects were among 80 zama zamas arrested during raids which were launched after residents went to abandoned mines and raided the area.
The seven accused were initially charged with being in the country illegally, now they are facing additional charges including multiple counts of rape, and robbery with aggravated circumstances.
More suspects are expected to appear on Thursday in relation to the new charges.
Two of the suspects who appeared on Wednesday are 18 and 15-years-old.
The 15-year-old is expected to appear on Thursday for age assessment. He'll appear with the additional suspects.
The case against the remaining suspects has been postponed to September 28.
Since the horrific incident of the eight women, various communities in the west of Johannesburg raided abandoned mine shafts where illegal miners were operating and also burned several houses believed to be owning by the zama zamas.
This has also led Police Minister Bheki Cele to deploy specialised SAPS units to flush out illegal miners in the area.
Community members were also calling on SANDF members to be deployed as they had lost hope in the police.
Cele responded to allegations of police corruption, saying inadequate service delivery at stations will be probed at a provincial level and acted on.
IOL