'Difficult to justify criminal sentences for Stilfontein miners’ - General Industries Workers Union of SA
The Pretoria High Court has granted an order preventing police from blocking the unused mine in Stilfontein.
Africa Melane speaks with Mametlwe Sebei, President at General Industries Workers Union of South Africa (GIWUSA).
Listen below.
More than 4000 illegal miners are stuck underground in Stilfontein at an unused mine.
The court has ruled that police may not block the mine, and those underground must be allowed to exit.
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Since Wednesday, residents in neighbouring communities have been rescuing those underground using ropes, which police have permitted.
The police themselves have refused to go underground due to safety concerns.
Two men were rushed to hospital after being rescued from the mine over the weekend.
Sebei says rescuing those underground has been extremely difficult as their food, water, and medical supplies have been cut off.
He says it can take an hour to pull someone to the surface, and they are too weak to help themselves get out.
The miners are roughly two kilometres underground.
“The workers that came to the surface were extremely emaciated and dehydrated. It speaks to the dire situation underground.”
- Mametlwe Sebei, President - GIWUSA
Sebei says he is confident everyone will be brought to the surface.
Upon surfacing, many of the miners will face criminal charges.
However, Sebei says they can likely only be charged with trespassing, and that it will be difficult to justify a prison sentence.
To prevent this situation in future, he says we need to support artisanal miners who are scavenging for gold that no one is trying to extract.
Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the interview.