-
Members of the South African police, patrol as they guard the mine shaft where rescue operations are ongoing as attempts are made to rescue illegal miners who have been underground for months in Stilfontein, South Africa, January 14, 2025.
The General Industries Workers Union of South Africa (Giwusa) has defined the Stilfontein saga, as a post-apartheid massacre, that has even surpassed Marikana.
The government-led retrieval operation resulted in the retrieval of 246 illegal miners and 78 bodies between Monday and yesterday.
Prior to this, a community-led operation retrieved over 1 000 illegal miners and nine bodies.
Though government says illegal miners went underground of their own volition, Giwusa says the operation by police to close all exits at disused mine shafts, resulted in incidents of starvation and death.
The union’s President, Mametlwe Sebei says the delays by government to start its retrieval operation also resulted in more deaths.
Sebei says, “The fact that the dehumanisation and criminalisation of these poor, desperate miners has succeeded to a point that they will not enjoy the same solidarity shown to miners at Marikana and other victims of state violence does not determine nor change the objective historical fact. These miners died en masse due to a series of decisions and brutal crackdown by the operational management of the police, with the approval, and cheering of the political establishment and top echelons of the state.”
Lax immigration controls
The African Transformation Movement (ATM) is blaming government’s lax immigration controls for exacerbating the Stilfontein mining crisis in the North West.
ATM spokesperson Zama Ntshona says South Africa has become a haven for looters.
Ntshona says, “The miners themselves, do not have the capacity to create the demand, even if they mine, there is still somebody else who must be out there who has the money to actually buy this after.”
He says, “So individuals who do not want to come directly and use legal means to acquire, they create the demand. The government does not mend the borders, government does not hold the companies that should do rehabilitation of these mines accountable. This scenario creates an environment where individuals who are ready to loot could come and loot in this country.”
VIDEO | Interview with Ntshona on SA fm’s First Take programme:
