19.04.2025
Latest

Relief bid for Stilfontein illegal miners lacked crucial facts: Judge

3 mins



  • Shaft 10 exit used by 14 illegal mine workers to emerge from underground.

2 minutes

The Gauteng High Court in Pretoria has dismissed the main application launched by organisation, Society for the Protection of our Constitution, amid the operation by law enforcement officials to have suspected illegal miners resurface at the Stilfontein mine shaft in the North West.

During the hearing last Thursday, the applicant argued that the intercepting of essential goods by police puts the suspected illegal miners at risk of dying from starvation and experiencing dehydration.

They also argued that the illegal miners were being denied access to medication for chronic illnesses.

However, Judge Brenda Neukircher differed with the organisation.

In a 14-page judgment, Neukircher says the application failed to place crucial facts before the court such as that of an alternative safe exit in the form of Margaret Mine Shaft which has been used by 500 suspected illegal miners at the date of hearing and that the police have not, in fact, blocked the shaft as alleged by the applicant.

The court stressed that the argument as laid out by the applicant is emotive, used to create atmosphere; and is unsupported.

It finds that there is no evidence at all to suggest that the police are using means of arrest to torture and kill the miners, further adding that the society has not offered cogent proof to show that the respondents’ response to the situation is not measured, considered and proportional.

Meanwhile, the South African Police Service (SAPS) has welcomed the ruling.

The SAPS remains adamant that the illegal miners are not trapped underground, however, they refuse to resurface because they are scared of being arrested.

In the audio below, Police Spokesperson Athlenda Mathe provides details into the arrest of the 14 illegal miners who resurfaced at shaft 10 last night.

Related News