Family of dead miner wants answers
The family said the circumstances under which their family member died are unclear
The family of Linganani Mngadi, who died in the incident that occurred at the Sibanye-Stillwater Ikamva shaft on Monday, 11 June, said many questions still linger about the circumstances surrounding his death.
35-year-old Mngadi’s body was found on Wednesday, 13 June, during the rescue operations. He and four other workers died in this incident.
“I received a call at about 10.30pm, letting me know that Linganani’s body had been found underground,” said David Mngadi, Linganani’s grandfather.
Mngadi, who said he used to work as a miner, said the family was devastated after hearing the news of the tragedy. He said he had arranged the job at the mine for his grandson in 2002, after he had completed his schooling.
He went on to say that after the accident was announced, the family still had hope that Linganani would be found alive. “Unfortunately,” he said, “my grandson’s body was burnt beyond recognition.”
“We were then informed that five people were involved in the incident. At that time, the body of one of the victims had already been found,” he said.
Also Read: 21 Sibanye-Stillwater miners dead in 2018 – DA concerned
Emotionally, Mngadi said he had brought his grandson up, and watched him become an astute young man. “I had a hand in his upbringing and the shaping of his personality,” he said.
Even though Mngadi was grateful that Sibanye had paid his grandson’s funeral costs, he said the family remains unhappy about the circumstances of his death. “We were told that the area where the accident occurred had been abandoned, and that no one knew what the deceased were doing there.”
Mngadi said they were also told that at the time of the incident, the overseer had been elsewhere. He said the families were told that the mine workers had entered the abandoned working area through Level 41. He said it was eventually revealed that the overseer, who had been said to be on Level 43 at the time of the accident, was in fact with the deceased on Level 41.
He said a plan of the mine was requested, in order for the families to understand the circumstances of the tragedy. Mngadi said he wanted to know what exactly the victims were doing at that spot.
“We also asked if the overseer had been interviewed and were told ‘No’. We are left with many questions. Another thing that remains to be seen is the postmortem report.
“I have told the management of the operation that they need to take action about safety and that we are very unhappy about this incident. I said that if Sibanye does not take any action, I will. We cannot have a situation like this at the mine,” he said.
James Wellsted, a spokesperson for Sibanye-Stillwater, said the Ikamva incident workers went into an unventilated area that had been closed off, and were overcome by heat. He said the fatalities that occur at the mines result from various factors. A sixth miner was killed a week later, on Monday, 25 June, at the Komanani shaft, when he accidentally crossed the path of a scraper.
“Our safety performance since we started Sibanye in 2013 has actually been among the best in the industry. This regression is significantly worse than what we have had over the last five years.
“Safety is a concern, but I would say that until this year, our safety performance has been as good as, or better than, our peers in the industry.”
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