Read more
‘Massacre’: Government accused of murdering Stilfontein illegal miners as more zama zamas rescued
Government was ordered to rescue the illegal miners at the disused mine.
A South African Police Services (Saps) vehicle is parked near the mine shaft in Stilfontein on 17 November 2024. Picture: Phill Magakoe / AFP
The ongoing situation at the Buffelsfontein gold mine in Stilfontein, North West, has been described as a “massacre” following the release of videos depicting the appalling conditions faced by illegal miners still underground.
It is alleged 109 miners have died at the abandoned mine after a two-week suspension of rescue operations led by community volunteers during the festive season, following damage to the pulley system.
Before 9 January, the last delivery of food and water to the zama zamas was made on 24 December last year.
ALSO READ: Will the scourge of illegal mining continue to plague SA in 2025?
The Gauteng High Court in Pretoria has since ordered the government to rescue the illegal miners and provide humanitarian assistance.
The Mines Rescue Services (MSR) took over operations at the Stilfontein mine on Monday after the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) finalised an agreement with the non-profit company to retrieve the miners.
This is amid the circulation of a disturbing video showing numerous bodies wrapped in plastic at the abandoned mine, captured via a cellphone sent underground.
Stilfontein illegal miners ‘murdered’
Speaking to the media on Monday, General Industries Workers Union of South Africa (GIWUSA) president and Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) attorney, Mametlwe Sebei, described the video footage as painting “a very dire picture”, further labelling the situation “a massacre”.
“What has transpired here has to be called what it is.
“This is a Stilfontein massacre because what this footage does, it shows a pile of human bodies of miners that died needlessly, and this massacre is really a bloody culmination of a treacherous policy that was pursued by the government in this police operation.
“It’s not about closing of the mines and managing the exit of the miners in the most responsible way,” Sebei said.
READ MORE: Drone expert roped in to assess conditions of Stilfontein illegal miners
He also challenged government claims that Shaft 10 was a viable exit.
“You would have heard over months, a campaign of lies and fabrication about the state, and of course, the options and the choices that these miners are having underground, that they could always leave through shaft 10 apparently, or they can always exit miraculously from shaft 11, which we’ve emphasised again and again, that it’s a two-kilometer hole.”
No way out for Stilfontein illegal miners
Sebei further insisted the miners had “no way out” without a lift, staircase, or pulley system while accusing police and mine owners of denying food, water, and medication to the miners for nearly two weeks even though they were “already dying”.
“For 13 days, these miners did not have food, did not have water [and] did not have medication, but also nobody could be able to rescue them, nor could they escape or get out of the mine by any other route.
“The result was a deadly trip that at Stilfontein shaft 11 became, and as a result of that, we today have an estimation of 109 bodies of the miners who, we must say, were murdered by the police because every action, the calculation, the decision and the management of this operation in the past two weeks could not have had any other consequences than to kill these miners.”
The lawyer rejected claims that the supplies delivered were sufficient.
READ MORE: Nearly 50 Stilfontein illegal miners resurface, police says no evidence of cannibalism
“It is not true that the amount of food, water, and medication that we sent there was actually excessive and was being hoarded.
“That food was already far from adequate, so we had already put these miners under austerity on the basis of restricted supply that the police could allow.”
He added that those who remained alive were barely surviving.
To date, over 1 500 illegal miners have resurfaced, and at least 10 bodies have been recovered. However, hundreds of miners remain underground.
Over the course of Monday, several zama zamas were rescued with a cage deployed by the MSR.
Mantashe issues warning
While the Mining Affected Communities United in Action (Macua) has approached the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) with an urgent application concerning the miners, Mineral and Petroleum Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe issued a stark warning to the non-profit organisation (NGO).
“One of the things that surprises me in South Africa is when South Africans place human rights at the centre of criminal activities.
“That worries me because it suggests that we are preaching tolerance for criminality.
“Macua should [be careful] not to promote criminality and say we must protect criminality against justice and fairness,” Mantashe said in an interview with Newzroom Afrika on Monday.
READ MORE: ‘We can’t send down food or rescue miners’: Police accused of sabotage at Stilfontein mine
Mantashe further underscored the economic impact of illegal mining, estimating a loss of approximately R60 billion in 2024.
“That is a lot of leakage from the value of the economy and, therefore, we cannot be merciful in dealing with that criminal activity.
“We must deal with it as a crime and [acknowledge] that the people underground voluntarily entered into a risky situation.”
For more news your way
Download our app and read this and other great stories on the move. Available for Android and iOS.
