Helping to retrieve illegal miners from underground may have been a heroic act, but it has landed Mzwandile Mkwayi in hot waters with the Correctional Services Department.
The department says he broke the terms of his parole by conducting media interviews without authorisation.
He and Mandla Charles are the two volunteers who went underground with the cage designed to retrieve illegal miners from underground at Shaft 11 in Stilfontein, North West.
They managed to help retrieve 246 illegal miners who were still alive but also endured the trauma of boarding a cage that carried 78 bodies.
They had volunteered to help the mine rescue team in their operation, as the authorities had indicated that none of the police officers or rescuers would go underground.
“The decomposed bodies smelled very bad, yet Mandla Charles and I managed to put them in body bags because we had to be strong. We cannot eat now because I saw that some of them were eating dead bodies.”
Harrowing details of the experiences of these volunteers.
In less than a week after this interview with the SABC, Mkwayi has now found himself in hot water.
In the interview with the SABC, authorities had promised to organise counselling for the two volunteers, something Mkwayi conceded to, partially.
The community volunteer says, “We will attend that Western counselling; however, we are traditional people. We have to cleanse, we cannot sleep at home with our families. We carry this dark cloud because we move around with their souls.”
Mine Rescue South Africa acknowledged the pivotal role they played.
CEO of Mines Rescue Mannas Fourie says, “I need to give credit to these two gentlemen that came to assist us. They were easily trained. They were eager and did a hard job underground. They assisted us greatly in getting all the bodies out and also the people alive.”
The Mkwayi family is distraught that their time with Mzwandile has now been cut short after he was arrested for conducting an unauthorised media interview as a parolee.
Sister Ntombikayise Mkwayi explains, “He said he wanted to assist the community so that they can see he has changed. Now I’m shocked that he is arrested. They are the ones who allowed him to go underground and help. I feel like they were using him because just after the operation was completed they arrested him.”
The family says this happens as he’s trying to change.
“He said they warned him to not appear on TV again. We see way too many convicted celebrities on TV. He has been compliant with the parole board. Why is he returned to prison when he is trying to change?”
The family says he did not get the promised counselling.
“He did not get counselling, other than going back to prison. he is traumatised, he cannot sleep at night because of the corpses he saw underground,” Ntombikayise Mkwayi adds.
His daughter Noxolo Filtane says, “I did not get a chance to spend time with him. All along he was busy helping the community and I’m very hurt because we do not have many memories with him as his children.”
In a statement, the Correctional Services Department says Mkwayi violated his parole conditions. They say he left his designated jurisdiction without prior notice and engaged with the media without prior authorisation.
Although the department says he remains on parole, it could not confirm or deny the family’s reports that he is back in prison.
