STILFONTEIN MINES DISASTER @KASIBCNEWS
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) is deeply saddened and outraged by the devastating tragedy unfolding in Stilfontein, North West, where 216 illegal miners have been rescued, and 78 bodies have been retrieved following months of government negligence and a disregard for human life.
This disaster is a grim reflection of the incompetence of law enforcement, the failure of intelligence services, and the dehumanisation of black and undocumented individuals in South Africa. Operation Vala Umgodi, launched by the government in December 2023, claimed to target illegal mining, but its execution in this instance was marked by brutality, a lack of foresight, and an inhumane disregard for human dignity.
By cutting off food and water supplies to miners underground, the state effectively created conditions for a humanitarian catastrophe. Despite early warnings, including from the EFF, that this approach would lead to a massacre, the government dismissed these calls for reason and compassion.
The court process leading to the eventual rescue operation exposes the government’s excuses and inaction. On November 21, 2023, mining-affected communities filed an urgent application with the Pretoria High Court to compel the government to provide humanitarian aid and initiate rescue operations.
The application was dismissed, further entrenching the state’s indifference to the plight of the illegal miners. However, the persistence of human rights organisations, community leaders, and affected families led to further legal challenges. By December, an interim order permitting community members and charitable organisations to deliver food and water to the miners. When the government continued to fail in its duty to address the crisis, an urgent application was brought to the Pretoria High Court by a relative of one of the trapped miners.
This led to a court order on January 12, 2024, mandating the government to deploy mining rescue services to assist miners underground. The court’s ruling made it clear that the rescue operation, initially dismissed as impossible, was in fact feasible with the proper resources and political will. The successful rescue of 216 miners and the retrieval of 78 bodies highlight that the tragedy was avoidable had the government taken timely and humane action.
The court’s intervention proves that alternative approaches—those that respect human rights and involve community engagement—can and should have been employed from the outset. Instead, the government’s refusal to act earlier resulted in unnecessary suffering and loss of life, even after young boys—trafficked and abused in these mines—resurfaced. This dismissive and violent approach is disturbingly reminiscent of apartheid-era tactics, where black lives were considered expendable.
The treatment of illegal miners, many of whom are foreign nationals, reflects the same dehumanisation seen during the Marikana massacre and countless other instances when black people have risen in protest or desperation. The government’s actions reinforce a narrative that certain lives are worth less, a stance the EFF vehemently rejects.
The EFF condemns the government’s refusal to collaborate with local communities, whose insights could have prevented this tragedy. It is unacceptable that intelligence services had no knowledge of the number of miners trapped underground or the dire conditions they faced. The lives lost and ruined in Stilfontein are a direct consequence of this failure to engage with communities and address the crisis through lawful, humane, and effective means.
We reiterate that mining companies must be held accountable for their role in this crisis. It is their legal responsibility to properly close disused mines, ensuring they do not become death traps or hubs for parallel economies. The presence of a parallel mining market is undeniable—gold extracted from these operations is being processed and sold, yet no investigations have uncovered the culprits or disrupted the illegal supply chain. This failure to act demonstrates a complicity by political actors that cannot be ignored. As rescue operations continue, we call for immediate accountability from those responsible for this disaster.
We demand a comprehensive investigation into the operations of parallel mining markets and decisive action against mining companies that fail to rehabilitate abandoned mines. Furthermore, the government must adopt a humane and community-centred approach to addressing illegal mining, ensuring that the lives and dignity of all people, regardless of their legal status or nationality, are respected.
The EFF extends its deepest condolences to the families of those who have lost their lives and stands in solidarity with the survivors. The tragedy in Stilfontein must serve as a turning point—a moment when South Africa finally confronts the systemic injustices that dehumanise black and undocumented people and perpetuate cycles of violence and neglect.
