Stilfotnein mine/ Picture: X(formerly Twitter)
The recovery mission is well underway at the Stilfontein mine situated in the North West Province, and what has been uncovered so far can only be described as interesting.
The Stilfontein controversy dates back to late 2024 when news broke that approximately 4500 Zama Zama’s were trapped inside the mining shaft and could not escape in fear of getting arrested, among other things. This group was previously notorious for their lawlessness and total disregard for consequences as they often broke the law and got away with it, leaving the government and the rest of the country in a moral dilemma.
After a few court visits the SAPS began a rescue mission to retrieve the remaining miners that were left in the abandoned mine. So far, the police have recovered a total of 246 survivors, and a tally of 78 miners who have unfortunately passed away, dispelling the inaccurate original estimate of 4500 miners.
According to the official South African Police Services (SAPS) X(formerly Twitter) page, within this group of 246 survivors, it is reported that 128 of them are of Mozambican descent, while 80 are from Lesotho, 33 Zimbabweans, leaving only five South Africans.
It is also reported that these miners were accompanied by some gold that is worth a significant amount.
#sapsHQ [UPDATE – Stilfontein] #IllegalMining
A total of 246 alive illegal miners have been retrieved and arrested since Monday, 13 January 2025. 78 have been certified dead.A breakdown of nationalities of those arrested are as follows:
Mozambicans: 128
Lesotho: 80… pic.twitter.com/ojKmx3IwIv— SA Police Service 🇿🇦 (@SAPoliceService) January 16, 2025
The news of the nationalities of the miners does not sit well with South Africans, as they look for who to blame in this case. Other users on the other hand have compared this tragedy to the Marikana Massacre where 34 miners were brutally killed by the SAPS. According to these users, instead of using bullets like the last time, the government used hunger as their weapon of choice and planned to starve the miners to death.
A Second Massacre of Mineworkers
This tragedy is eerily reminiscent of the Marikana massacre, where 34 miners were killed by live ammunition in a premeditated act of state violence. In Stilfontein, hunger has been used as a weapon to achieve the same deadly outcome. This is… https://t.co/cZ8YEr6lG3
— Zwelinzima Vavi (@Zwelinzima1) January 15, 2025
Users appear to be split in the middle when it comes to coming to a consensus of whether this unique occurrence qualifies as a massacre or not. The opposing side believes that the SAPS and government did their due diligence by offering the miners an opportunity to voluntarily leave the abandoned mine, which they did not make use of.
Come on Vavi. You surely cannot blame the government for what transpired at Stilfontein. Those illegal foreigners and criminals were given ample time to exit the mine on the own, but they refused.
— Call Me Dr D (@princecloete) January 15, 2025
Also see: The curious case of the Zama Zama’s – What should the South African government do?
