Providing food, water to illegal miners defeats our objectives: Masemola

Police believe providing food and other necessities to illegal miners underground defeats the purpose of Operation Vala Umgodi and will encourage the continuation of illicit mining activities underground. 

National police commissioner Gen Fannie Masemola made these remarks after visiting Sabie in Mpumalanga and Stilfontein in North West where hundreds of illegal miners remain underground. 

Masemola said everyone must come out from disused and abandoned mines and that police have arrested a number of alleged illegal mining kingpins in recent months to showcase its commitment in holding to account those responsible.

Masemola said the Pretoria high court on Thursday heard an application by the Mining Affected Communities United in Action (Macua) as it sought to compel the police to allow communities to supply food, water and medication to illegal miners. 

Masemola said the police service raised concerns in court regarding the implementation of an interim order made on Sunday. The order compelled the police minister to allow community members, charitable organisations and interested people to, in an orderly manner, provide humanitarian aid including water, food and medication to the artisanal miners trapped underground at shafts in Stilfontein. 

However, the police limited the amount and type of food and medication delivered underground, forcing Macua to obtain an order on Tuesday declaring that the minister was in breach of the interim order. 

“Our view is that the continuous supply of food and water defeats the purpose of our ongoing operations which seek to put a stop to these ongoing illicit mining activities,” Masemola said. 

He said the court postponed the application on Thursday and also varied Sunday’s interim order. Food and water will now be supplied from Monday to Friday between 8am and 4pm and no food will be lowered down the mineshafts at weekends. 

Masemola said hazardous substances including paraffin, gas, and diesel will no longer be allowed to be sent down to the miners. 

Masemola said the Stilfontein rescue operation was not as easy as it seemed. 

“It is quite complex with the depth of the shaft playing a major role in how this operation is carried out. Unlike the Sabie operation in which the shaft is 150m deep, the Stilfontein shaft is 2km deep, making it a very difficult and high-risk operation to undertake.” 

Masemola said in the past two days, six bodies were retrieved in Stilfontein. He said during the same period, 26 miners had resurfaced from various shafts. To date, more than 1,387 illegal miners have resurfaced in recent weeks.

Masemola said police management stood firm and was in support of operations in Stilfontein and still maintained it was not safe for any human being to be underground in the disused mine shafts. 

Police were also investigating child and human trafficking claims that were made by the majority of those who have resurfaced. They claimed they were brought into the country under the false pretence of job opportunities. 

 “They were thereafter kept against their will and made to illegally mine gold for their bosses. We are told that some of their bosses, who are heavily armed, are underground keeping the majority of the miners hostage.” 

He said two alleged illegal mining kingpins, Joacham Chivayo from Zimbabwe and Ayanda Gungwa, were arrested by the Hawks in an upmarket estate on Tuesday last week.

The pair, who allegedly had R15m worth of unwrought gold, appeared in the Brakpan magistrate’s court and were charged with contravening the Precious Metals Act. 

Also last month, another alleged illegal mining kingpin, Loren Louw, appeared in the Brakpan magistrate’s court on 1,176 counts of money laundering and contraventions of the Precious Metals Act amounting to R2.6bn.

TimesLIVE