Mashaba leads picket to Mantashe’s office over Lily Mine tragedy

ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba on Tuesday led a picket outside the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) in Pretoria.

This was to hand over a memorandum to Minister Gwede Mantsashe, seeking closure for the families of the Lily Mine victims.

It has been six years since the bodies of Pretty Nkambule, Solomon Nyirenda, and Yvonne Mnisi were trapped 70 metres underground in a container, following a sinkhole collapse at the mine in February 2016.

The trio’s bodies have not been retrieved due to safety concerns but their families continue to fight to be able to give their loved ones a dignified funeral.

Mashaba, joined by members of ActionSA and the victims’ families, picketed outside the DMRE in Sunnyside seeking justice from government.

ActionSA spokeperson Lerato Ngobeni said on 19 May 2022, the families and former miners marched to Mpumalanga Premier Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane’s office seeking intervention from her.

“We delivered a memorandum requesting her office’s intervention to have a meeting with the mine’s business rescue practitioners who have to date not delivered on their mandate as ordered by the Mbombela High Court,” said Ngobeni.

They requested the premier’s office to respond within 10 days, but it failed to do so.

Lily Mine tragedy

On 24 January 2022, the families marked 1000 days camping outside Lily Mine looking for answers from government.

Testifying in court, former Lily Mine geologist Michael Begg said the search and rescue efforts to retrieve the trio’s bodies would have continued had the crown pillar that collapsed in 2016 not deteriorated further.

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