MANYANE MANYANE
The government has been blamed for the continued deaths of the illegal miners trapped at Stilfontein Mine in North West.
Labour union, the General Industries Workers Union of South Africa (Giwusa) said this was a culmination of a policy pursued by the government.
The union said the miners were dying because of a police-backed deprivation of food and water, while the miners could not come up to surrender.
Giwusa made these remarks during a press briefing organised by the Mining Affected Communities in Action (Macua), where it was expected to give an update about the situation underground, and the progress regarding the rescue operation.
The briefing was held in Stilfontein on Monday morning.
Giwusa president Mametlwe Sebei said the miners shared footage that painted a dire picture - showing dead bodies and starving people.
Sebei called the deaths a “Stilfontein massacre”.
“What has transpired here had to be called what it is. This is a Stilfontein massacre because what the footage shows is is a pile of human bodies, of miners that died needlessly. This is a massacre, which is what it is, is really a bloody culmination of a treacherous policy that was pursued by the government, and in this police operation, Sebei said.
The organisation claimed there was also a campaign of lies and fabrication about the State, the choices and options of the miners underground - that they could leave through shaft 10.
“Or they can always exit miraculously from shaft 11. We have emphasised again and again, that it is a two-kilometre hole, without a lift, without a staircase and without a pulley system that the police and the company owning this mine dismantled,” he said.
Between 500 and 1 000 illegal miners are still trapped underground in Stilfontein.
Sebei said more than 100 bodies are yet to be hoisted from the mine shaft.
Police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe said the pulling system was removed to prepare the rescue operations of the Mine Rescue Services (MRS), following a court order.
The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) issued an order for the rescue following a court order.
The court ruling followed an urgent application brought by Zinzi Tom, a community member whose brother, Ayanda Tom, was among the hundreds of miners allegedly trapped since July 2024.
The court ordered the government to finalise and send a Service Level Agreement and appointment to rescuers and to ensure that the agreement was signed on Friday.
In a statement issued on Sunday, DMRE said the decision to deploy rescue services was made independently and prior to the urgent application brought by Macua.
The department added that this decision reflected the unwavering commitment from the government and the sector, represented by the Minerals Council of South Africa to facilitate the exit of those illegal miners who remain underground.
In its response, Macua said the matter was currently under a judicial case and that the organisation approached the high court again to force these State agencies not to relegate their Constitutional duty and to commence with rescue operations without any further delay.