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Houses destroyed by sludge are seen when the Jagersfontein diamond tailings dam wall collapsed on 11 September 2022.
The 26 victims of the Jagersfontein mine dam wall collapse and the Kopanong Local Municipality in the Free State have filed a civil lawsuit against the Jagersfontein Developments Mine, estimated at over R3 billion.
The victim’s lawyer, Andries Nkome, says the claim is due to the loss of water infrastructure and damage to power lines that the municipality suffered during the disaster.
Nkome says the victims also lost their properties and livestock.
The Jagersfontein mine dam wall collapse in 2022 claimed three lives and left many displaced.
Five accused and three companies appeared briefly in the Jagersfontein Magistrate’s Court in the Free State Wednesday morning on charges of murder, malicious damage to property and contravention of the Health and Safety Act.
Nkome says, “This case that was running in front of the court today is a criminal case, at the end of a criminal case you have an imprisonment sentence imposed. The one in Bloemfontein High Court is a civil matter in terms of victims wanting financial compensation for the trauma they suffered and for the property that they lost as a result of the disaster.”
Meanwhile, one of the victims, Tshepiso Ngubeni says it has been difficult making a living since the tragedy happened.
Ngubeni says he hopes that the mine will compensate him for the property he lost.
“Remember, we were actually accommodated temporarily in people’s houses, in people backyards and when they started building for those who had signed with them, they stopped paying the rent. Fortunately, we had relatives who would accommodate us and that is with whom we are staying with. That is why we hope things will work out so that I have a home for my children.”
The matter has been postponed to the 22nd of October for further investigations.
Related video | Jagersfontein Dam collapse photo exhibition at UFS:
