Years later, father believes daughter is still alive

MBOMBELA – Elmon was the first witness on Tuesday in the Nelspruit Magistrate’s Court during the inquest* into the Lily Mine collapse.

He believes that Yvonne, Solomon Nyirenda and Pretty Nkambule can return alive after having been taken by a mermaid. The bodies of the three have not been recovered since the container fell into the sinkhole.

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“My reason for not saying they are dead is because I have not seen their remains. I did not go to where Yvonne was last seen, and I did not bury her. As black people, we believe people sometimes disappear because they were taken by a mermaid and can still be returned. I will not say she is dead, and I will only be convinced she is dead after the mine is opened and we see that she is dead.

“I have asked my family members to stop crying, because if they do, the mermaid will kill those people who collapsed with the container.”

During an interview with Elmon in 2017, he said he did not believe they were dead, and he repeated it when he was giving his testimony last week. Yvonne’s first son is called Blessing, born in 2005, and the second son, June, was born in 2011.

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“Since the incident occurred, we had not told the kids anything about their mother’s whereabouts. This changed in 2020 when we were commemorating the day the container collapsed; I told Blessing that his mother and two other workers had gone down in the container.”

On Tuesday, an inspection in loco at Lily Mine was conducted by all role players; these were the presiding officer, assessors (mine experts), state prosecutors, family members with their legal representatives, investigating officers and others.

According to Harry Mazibuko, one of the families’ representatives, they are hoping that the inquest will bring some light as to what transpired.

On Friday November 5, Dean Ackerman, who had been a junior blaster when the incident occurred, gave his testimony. He shared his working conditions, experiences and challenges.

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According to him, at some point he was told to do things he did not want to do while on duty.

“When raising my concerns, I was told that if I did not want to work, I must just pack my bags and leave. The mine captain was aware of the activities. I got instructions and did not ask questions. I did what I was told to do. As we were digging under the crown pillar, it got smaller. The crown pillar was 18 metres thick,” he said.

When Ackerman was asked if he thought the collapse could be attributed to illegal mining, he said, “It was hard for someone from the outside to go inside. This is because there were people working from Monday to Sunday. When a shift ends, another starts. There were always people going up and down.” As he was testifying, he used a pen and piece of paper to explain the structures and demonstrate the conditions of the pillars in the mine.

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He also used plans that were displayed on the court wall. Barend Johannes Koorzen, a former employee of Lily Mine, said the workers were not forced to work and that if he had forced them, they could have followed the processes to raise their concerns and he could have lost his job.

“There are procedures to follow if workers are not happy. The mine protects its employees. The workers could complain to human resources if they had problems.”

The provincial NPA spokesperson, Monica Nyuswa, said, “The matter was postponed for further evidence.” The inquest is still under way in the magistrate’s court and is expected to end tomorrow, on Friday November 12. Various witnesses will be testifying.

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*According to the Inquests Act 58 of 1959, an inquest is held in the case of a death or alleged death apparently occurring from something other than natural causes and for matters incidental thereto.

It is not a trial – there are no accused parties. The procedure seeks to determine the circumstances within which the Lily Mine tragedy had occurred. Lowvelder Express will attend the Lily Mine inquest proceedings throughout and report the versions of all parties called to testify.