South Africa: Trapped illegal miners face dire conditions

For nearly two weeks, South African police have closely monitored an abandoned gold mine at Stilfontein, about 150 kilometers (100 miles) southwest of Johannesburg. The mine reportedly descends vertically for more than 2 km (1.2 miles) underground and a rope is the only way down or up.

It is believed that hundreds of illegal  are facing a grim situation after police cut off their supply lines in a bid to force them out.

The security officers have also prevented the locals from sending food and water down to the miners. 

Illegal mining is widespread in South Africa where the miners are known as "zama zama", which in isiZulu loosely translates to "those who take a chance."

'Nothing left for the miners to eat'

Police have arrested more than 1,000 of the miners who resurfaced at Stillfontein recently.

"There's nothing left for someone to eat, to drink or anything that can make a human being survive," Ayanda Ndabeni, one of the miners who came out of the abandoned mine on Friday, told AFP. Police first detained him, but later, he was released as he is a South African national with no previous criminal record.

He said the police operation known as "Vala Umgodi," or "Close the Hole," had brought immense suffering for those still underground.

"Some of us, they died. Some of us are sick, critical." Ndabeni said.

Last week, a decomposed body was brought out, raising fears that there could be more Many of the miners are undocumented migrants other parts of southern Africa.

A dangerous standoff

The South African government caused a stir last week when a senior official told reporters that it would not be sending help to the illegal miners at Stillfontein.

"Honestly, we're not sending help to criminals, we're going to smoke them out," Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, said.

In response, some community members who sympathized with the miners held placards that read "Smoke ANC out," referring to President Cyril Ramaphosa's African National Congress party.

South Africa has been plagued by illegal mining for decades. The informal sector is run through small-time pilfering and organized criminal networks. In 2022, the government set up a task force to fight the trade countrywide. 

Relatives anxious wait

As the standoff continued, the families of the miners trapped at Stillfontein braced for the worst. "If the government says it can't assist them, we don't know what to do," Zuziwe Ndabeni, who has relatives in the mine, told DW. "I have been here at the mine from 5 a.m. until now, and it's 5 p.m. We are getting no answers from authorities. We are waiting. I don't know until when."

"Linah Minezeya, a Zimbabwean woman with two sons inside the abandoned mine, told DW: "I'm here because I want to see my children. I haven't received any calls from them since February. I'm worried because they have no food inside there. I want to know if they are still alive or if they are dead. Some are telling us that there are no people inside, so I don't know if my sons are alive or dead."

Calls grow for the government to help

Johannes Qankase, a community leader in Stilfontein, urged the government to reconsider its position. "We are saying to our government, let's give these people food. Let's give them water so that they regain their strength for us to start the program of removing them, or let's give them a grace period," Qankase told DW.

"For example, we say we are going to give you six months. We get somebody like we did before to get down the mine to give them letters stating they have only six months to be out of the mine." 

However, South Africa's National Police Spokesperson, Athlenda Mathe, dismissed the pleas to assist the miners. "There is no standoff here. We are enforcing the law," Mathe told DW, citing Section 205 of the country's constitution, which gives the police the mandate to prevent and combat criminality.

"That is exactly what we are doing. We are requesting communities and South Africans to rally behind the work that we are doing." He said what the police were doing was the best strategy law enforcement could devise. "Resurface in a safe and secure manner and you will be processed accordingly,"  Mathe said.

Edited by: Benita van Eyssen