By Thapelo Molefe
The Stilfontein mining crisis and how the government has handled the situation continues to draw outage, with the General Industrial Workers Union of SA (Giwusa) labelling recent events at the North West mine as a “massacre”.
It is now estimated that 109 illegal miners have died, and many are in a critical condition.
Hundreds of miners are still underground since the police cut off supplies to them in August last year in an attempt to force them to resurface.
Rescue efforts at Shaft 11 are underway, led by Mine Rescue Services (MRS) with support from EMS, SAPS, Home Affairs, pathology, the Mining Affected Communities United in Action (Macua) and community leaders.
The rescue cage set up is nearly complete. Negotiations are in progress to extend working hours for the cage from 6am to 10pm. The team has a 10-day timeline to complete the mission.
A designated area has been established for recovered bodies, and three ambulances are onsite for survivors. Two volunteers will assist with retrieval of the bodies after receiving training to operate the cage.
Site access is strictly controlled, allowing only recognised community leaders, with a ban on cellphones, photos and videos to maintain order.
Briefing the media on Monday, Giwusa president Memetlwe Sebei painted a grim picture, accusing authorities and mining companies of negligence and deceit.
Sebei revealed that they received shocking footage depicting the bodies of miners trapped underground in Shaft 11, describing the site as a “mass graveyard”.
The footage has been made public to expose the “bloody culmination of treacherous policies” pursued by the government and police.
These policies, according to Sebei, involved dismantling critical support systems, including access to food, water and medication, effectively condemning the miners to death.
Community leader Thembile Botman has confirmed that the 109 miners have died of starvation.
“Up to now, all of them have died of starvation. The post-mortem that has been done to the dead bodies that are already on the surface proves that people died of starvation,” Botman said.
He also confirmed that the miners underground had started eating the bodies due to hunger.
Sebei dismissed claims that the miners had refused to leave voluntarily or engaged in mass suicide, calling such narratives “outrageous lies”.
“These miners were murdered by a calculated and cruel operation that deprived them of basic human needs,” Sebei stated.
He added that the dire conditions had reduced survivors to “living skeletons”, with many suffering from hunger, dehydration and untreated illnesses.
Sebei highlighted the ongoing legal efforts to hold authorities accountable. A case filed in the Pretoria high court by Zinzi Tom, the sister of a trapped miner, Ayanda, has prompted commitments from the government to initiate rescue operations.
The court has demanded regular updates on progress, with government representatives pledging to collaborate with mining rescue services and the Minerals Council of South Africa to expedite efforts.
However, Tom expressed her unhappiness about how the police handled the situation, saying all they wanted to do was smoke the miners out.
“Even if they came here, in a way, I’m not happy, because it’s long overdue. They gamble with the lives of our brothers… we didn’t need police assistance,” she said.
“They didn’t care whether they come out alive. Basically, I would say that if we didn’t take action, their plan was to kill them.”
SA National Civics Organisation provincial spokesperson Mzukisi Jam described the handling of the situation as “unthinkable” and “inhumane”, questioning the state’s priorities and commitment to its own people.
“It is unbelievable that a state would subject its own people to such a ruthless kind of situation,” Jam said.
“We are champions of human rights globally, celebrated for our Constitution, yet we fail to extend the same courtesy to our own people.”
Jam criticised the state for its delayed intervention, noting that civic organisations had been pleading for assistance well before the first fatalities were reported.
Instead of providing immediate help, he said the state’s initial response was to “smoke these people out”, a tactic he called both “heart breaking” and “unnecessary”.
Sebei acknowledged recent improvements, including the deployment of specialised equipment to assist in the rescue. However, he criticised the delay, noting that lives could have been saved if action had been taken sooner.
“The rescue process is expected to take up to three weeks, but for many, it may already be too late,” he said.
The tragedy has drawn outrage from local communities and the entire country, who accuse South African authorities and the government of neglecting the safety and welfare of miners, particularly those working in abandoned or informal shafts.
Sebei called for global solidarity, urging the media to expose the “criminal negligence” that led to the disaster.
“We demand accountability,” Sebei declared. “This is not just a mining disaster; it’s a human rights catastrophe.”
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