Community members on their way to the mine in Stilfontein, North West, on 19 November 2024, where some of the illegal miners remain underground. Picture: Nigel Sibanda/The Citizen
The court case concerning the standoff involving illegal miners at a mine in Stilfontein, North West, has been postponed.
Civil organisation, the Society for the Protection of Our Constitution, approached the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on behalf of the miners.
The matter has now been rescheduled for Thursday.
According to National Police Spokesperson Athlenda Mathe, the case was adjourned to allow the court time to review the South African Police Service’s (Saps) response documents.
Mathe stated that the answering affidavit clarified that the miners were not trapped, but were instead refusing to come to the surface.
“They are refusing to go out because they are avoiding arrest,” she said.
The Saps spokesperson stated that police would not enter the mine to retrieve the zama zamas due to the potential danger posed by explosives, which the miners may be armed with, threatening the safety of law enforcement officers.
ALSO READ: ‘We are rescuing criminals’: Authorities mum on plan to rescue illegal miners in Stilfontein
She also pointed out that an alternative shaft had been opened, allowing more than 500 illegal miners to safely exit the underground area.
“These illegal miners can use that particular shaft to exit and resurface.”
Mathe added that the authorities will continue with their retrieval operation.
“The rescue mission is unfolding. We do have mine experts that are there at the mine and conducting the assessment.”
Meanwhile, Yasmin Omar, the lawyer representing the illegal miners, accused the police of deliberately delaying the case by filing their answering affidavit at the eleventh hour.
“We know this matter was last in court on Saturday. They have taken all of these days and now you see even the judge indicated that she hasn’t had a chance to read the papers.
“So, this was a way of orchestrating a postponement of this matter in a situation where we have told the court this is really a matter of life and death as we have seen and heard that there are people dying underground,” she told the media.
READ MORE: ‘Illegal mining changed my brother, he was a gangster,’ says sister of one of the miners
Omar also raised concerns about the heavy police presence and the deployment of South African National Defence Force (SANDF) troops around the mine shaft.
“This is not a conventional police operation and this is clearly indicated by the fact that the military is there heavily armed.”
She further compared the situation to the 2016 Marikana massacre, where police killed 34 striking mineworkers.
“We are sitting with a situation that is even worse than Marikana. It is no good for us to be commemorating Marikana at a certain point every year when we are allowing for a situation where a significant number of lives are going to be lost while we are watching.
“We are watching a mass killing of people on TV. It is unacceptable, especially in a democracy like ours.”
Earlier this month, authorities intensified Operation Vala Umgodi to combat illegal mining activities in the North West and other regions nationwide.
The increased crackdown has already resulted in more than 1 000 miners resurfacing at the Stilfontein mine.
Some miners have died, others have fallen ill, and some are too weak to surface.
The police blocked the supply of food and water to those still underground in an effort to force the miners to emerge.
However on Saturday, the high court granted an interim order to the Society for the Protection of our Constitution, directing authorities to provide necessities, including medication such as ARVs, to those underground.
Mageu, instant porridge, and water have been sent down to the illegal miners to help them regain strength to emerge, according to Mathe.
President Cyril Ramaphosa, in his weekly newsletter, urged for a peaceful and safe resolution to the standoff at Stilfontein.
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