‘Killed through starvation’: Zwelinzima Vavi insists Stilfontein miners had no viable exit and were left to starve

The South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) has castigated government for the agonizing death of more than 50 miners at Stilfontein, North West, whose bodies have now been extracted following a months-long standoff.

On the second day of the State-sponsored rescue mission, a total of 106 illegal miners were brought to surface and arrested for illegal mining. A total of 51 bodies of the miners were also extracted from the mine shaft.

In the two days of the operation led by the State, a total of 132 frail miners have been rescued, and 60 bodies have been brought to surface.

Saftu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi said the 132 survivors who have since emerged from the deep mine shaft resemble "walking ghosts" after enduring weeks without food or water.

“These miners, many of them undocumented and desperate workers from Mozambique and other Southern African countries, were left to die in one of the most horrific displays of State’s willful negligence in recent history,” said Vavi.

He said the massacre reflects the South African government’s failure to uphold the most basic tenet of the Constitution - the right to life.

“A government without humanity. It is unconscionable that the South African government allowed this situation to deteriorate to such an extent. While it is true that these miners were engaged in illegal mining activities, driven by desperation and extreme poverty, their actions do not justify condemnation to death by starvation,” said Vavi.”

“The government’s inhumane and callous response, particularly the statements by the Minister in the Presidency (Khumbudzo Ntshavheni) likening the operation to “smoking them out” demonstrates a shocking disregard for human life. The Minister in the Presidency was taking a leaf from President (Cyril) Ramaphosa, who in 2012 referred to the striking Marikana miners as “dastardly criminals” and called for "concomitant action".

“This rhetoric, combined with the lack of urgency to rescue these miners, amounts to state-sanctioned murder. The videos circulating of government officials overseeing the “smoking out” of miners confirm the deliberate nature of their actions,” said the veteran trade unionist.

Vavi said the “method of killing through starvation” is reminiscent of the most brutal wars and genocides.

“The South African government has often condemned the use of food as a weapon in conflicts like the one between Israel and Palestine, but here at home, it stands accused of employing the same barbaric tactics. This hypocrisy cannot go unnoticed,” he said.

“The Minister of Minerals and Energy (Gwede Mantashe), who as a former mineworker and union leader should have been more sympathetic, remained indifferent and failed to even visit the site until bodies started piling up. This callousness mirrors the stance of President Cyril Ramaphosa during the Marikana massacre, when he referred to striking miners as “criminals” and called for decisive action, which led to the killing of 34 workers.”

The SA Federation of Trade Unions said it has ascertained that the thousands of miners had no viable exit without being rescued from the deep mine shaft.

“Despite the lies and misinformation propagated by some government officials and uninformed South Africans, Saftu has verified the following facts – there was no viable exit. The only feasible way out of Shaft 11 was through the makeshift community-operated structure using ropes, a process that took nearly an hour per worker,” said Vavi.

“Shaft 10’s crawl path - while there was a theoretical escape route via Shaft 10, it required 37 hours of crawling, an impossible feat for miners already weakened by hunger and dehydration. There was no connection to other shafts. Claims that miners could have exited via other shafts, such as Margaret Shaft 5, are baseless as these shafts are not physically connected to Shaft 11.”

Saftu insists the government knew these facts but chose inaction, leaving the miners to die a slow and agonizing death.

According to Vavi, the Stilfontein tragedy is eerily reminiscent of the Marikana massacre, where 34 miners were killed by live ammunition.

“In Stilfontein, hunger has been used as a weapon to achieve the same deadly outcome. This is nothing short of the systematic killing of 59 workers, with the death toll likely to rise as more bodies are recovered. The cold, nonchalant manner in which government officials, including Minister Gwede Mantashe, treat this needless massacre is testament of how cheap black life is,” said Vavi.

On Tuesday, after visiting Stilfontein, Police Minister Senzo Mchunu expressed regret over the deaths of the desperate miners, where dozens of bodies have now been extracted.

In an interview with broadcaster Newzroom Afrika on Tuesday night, Mchunu said government never suggested that it would never rescue the scores of stranded miners.

“We have never ever been unwilling to assist, and I think I need to straighten that record. There is no way we would have repeatedly gone there, spoke about this and even the design of operation Vala Umgodi never suggested directly or indirectly that government is unwilling to assist people to go out (of the mine),” said Mchunu.

In November, IOL reported that Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni insisted that government will not attempt to rescue illegal miners stranded underground in Stilfontein – but instead, government would “smoke them out”.

At a post-Cabinet media briefing, Nshavheni had vowed that government would not help “criminals”.

Asked about Ntshavheni’s sentiments, Mchunu said despite the remarks by Nshavheni, he had led a government delegation to Stilfontein a day after the remarks were made, in an effort to end the stand-off.

“Let us not assume that just because a statement was made, therefore, it is a statement from the collective of government. Statements made after concretely looking at the situation, were not along those lines. We were saying let us collaborate, let us work together.

“Let us not go back to that ('smoke them out') statement. Let us focus on what is being said now, and what we are doing now. That is what we are saying,” said Mchunu.

The minister said the miners who are coming out of the Stilfontein mines are being processed by several departments including health, home affairs and detained by police.

jonisayi.maromo@iol.co.za

IOL