Mining group threatens to sue govt over Stilfontein miner treatment

Mining/Miners

Cape Town – The Mining Affected Communities United In Action (MACUA) is reportedly contemplating legal action against the South African government for its treatment of illegal miners in Stilfontein, North West.

The group’s concerns stem from Operation Vala Umgodi, a law enforcement initiative targeting illicit mining activities, which has involved blocking food and water supplies to force miners out of abandoned shafts, EWN reported.

Since the operation began, over 1,000 illegal miners have been arrested, and one body was recovered from a shaft.

MACUA’s national coordinator, Meshack Mbangula, criticised the government for depriving miners of basic necessities, arguing that even prisoners are entitled to food.

“People have the right to food. People in prison have three meals so what’s wrong with these people who are not allowed to get food? They are weak and dying so government has to be held accountable for killing people because it’s them who are killing people. Nobody died when they were still allowed to get food,” the report quoted Mbangula as saying.

The High Court in Pretoria on Saturday ordered an end to the police blockade of a former gold mine.Police and ambulances have been at the site, in Stilfontein, about 140 kilometres (90 miles) southwest of Johannesburg, for several days, AFP reported.

Police called in experts on Saturday to assess the safety of the mine shafts to help decide if officers could carry out a forced evacuation, police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe told reporters.

But the court order effectively rules out that option.

The Pretoria court order said: “The mine shaft in Stilfontein… shall be unblocked and may not be blocked by any person or institution whether government or private.

“Any miners trapped in the mine shaft shall be permitted to exit; no non-emergency personnel may enter the mine shaft,” the judge added.

Last week, a local claimed to have been told there were around 4,000 miners underground.

Police, speaking earlier, said the figure was probably in the hundreds, but the illegal miners faced arrest if they came to the surface. On Thursday, a body was brought out of the mine.

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