Stilfontein saga seemingly far from over as some wait to hear about loved ones

 

The anguishing wait continues for the relatives of some of the men who are believed to have been part of the group of illegal miners who were hauled out this week from the Buffelsfontein Gold Mine, near Stilfontein, in the North West.

Rescue workers called off their operation on Thursday after rescuing 246 zama zamas and retrieving 78 bodies.

According to the police, 1 576 miners voluntarily returned to the surface between August and Monday, when the rescue mission began.

The total death toll of the disaster is 87.

While the families of the latest batch of illegal miners who were rescued are celebrating at the prospect of their loved ones returning home once they are released from police custody; some are grieving the loss of theirs and others remain in trepidation.

Among those in limbo is Zinzi Tom, who was at the forefront of a legal battle that resulted in government being ordered to launch a rescue operation.

She last saw her brother, Ayanda, in July last year when he went underground.

According to the president of Giwusa, Mametlwe Sebei, he wasn’t among those rescued last week nor was his body among those retrieved.

With claims that some of the illegal miners could still be trapped at Shaft 10, it remains to be seen whether Tom’s hope of Ayanda’s return as previously expressed in the clip below – yields results.

Some political parties, including the DA, have meanwhile called for an inquiry into the Stilfontein disaster, with various rights groups, representing miners, laying the blame for the miners’ death at government’s door.

They believe that government’s decision to temporarily cut off food supplies to the illegal miners is what led some of them to die of starvation or dehydration.

The police say some of the ring leaders of the zama zamas were among those who appeared in court on Friday.

They face a range of charges including the possession of gold-bearing material, trespassing and contravention of the immigration act.

The acting police commissioner in the North West, Patrick Asaneng, has told journalists that the winding down of their operations in Stilfontein doesn’t mean an end to their national operation Vala Umgodi project that’s aimed at stamping out illegal mining.

The rescue mission was expected to run for two weeks and was estimated to cost R12 million.

 

Operation Vala Umgodi (Close the Hole) was launched in 2023 amid growing concerns over the illegal mining scourge, which is linked to various crimes including money laundering, bribery and corruption as well as human trafficking.

The standoff in the North West began in August but only grabbed headlines in November when rights groups raised the alarm that hundreds of illegal miners were “trapped” about 2.5 km underground with no basic necessities, including food or water.

While others began resurfacing due to the tough conditions underground, others remained – some citing the fear of arrest.

At some point, claims that the miners had resorted to cannibalism – due to the dire situation they were faced with – surfaced as well as requests for baked beans and ARVs.

Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, was praised by some South Africans and slammed by others when she told journalists, during a post Cabinet briefing, that government would not be sending help to ‘criminals’ but was going to smoke them out so that they could be prosecuted.

From then on it was ‘Ring-a-Ring-a-Roses’ situation with miners sending letters requesting food and basic necessities whilst authorities stood their ground and blocked anything from going down.

It soon became a hot topic even on social media and had people expressing their views on how the whole situation had unfolded.

Some said poverty is no excuse for criminal activity, while others called for peaceful negotiations.

Government was at some point also urged to strike a balance between wanting to prevent crime and protecting human life.

Organisations such as the Mining Affected Communities United in Action (MACUA), the General Industrial Workers’ Union of South Africa (Giwusa) were at the forefront of getting government to assist the illegal miners.

They have described the loss of life at the mine as a massacre.

 

Stilfontein community leader, Thembile Botman, says he hopes the courts eventually pronounce the government as liable for the illegal miners’ deaths.

 

Social media users have also weighed in on the matter.

That Stilfontein community can go get knotted! The whole lot of them.

Hands off @Khu_Ntshavheni https://t.co/OnODhprOHE

— Nyana ka General (@zmbulawa) January 17, 2025

Vavi is using the Stilfontein tragedy to make a comeback. If artisinal miners want to work then let them dig their own shafts and have them regulated.

— Toxxic Maffia (@toxxicmaffia) January 17, 2025

Stilfontein volunteers said there were 3500 zama zama underground,there are 100s of dead bodies,poor south africans are jst trying to make a living, they lied but we must believe them now

— 2 CENTS🎙🇿🇦 (@Stop_Noncents) January 17, 2025

Next they will want a State Funeral for those Zama Zamas that died at the Stilfontein Mine pic.twitter.com/OaOB2PP5oL

— Luu👸🏾 (@Lungile_nje) January 17, 2025

Stilfontein’s leaders are upset over the deaths of the people that were raping and terrorizing the Stilfontein community?

— Jane Doe (@Nonebusine37699) January 17, 2025

Who killed Marikina workers? Where those people foreigners? Who ordered their death, and what does that say about the kind of people south Africans are? What is the difference between Marikina massacre and stilfontein massacre? What kind of people would justify either of the 2?

— Is’qhaza (@Zonke247) January 17, 2025