According to Minister Ntshavheni, the miners were stuck in the depths of the earth, which was their own doing, and the state would not be involved in any rescue of “criminals”.
Stilfontein will and must be remembered as one of the worst tragedies we have witnessed in the 30 years of democracy in South Africa. From August last year, 87 artisanal miners were deserted and hung out to die by an uncaring state, contrary to a constitutional democracy that guarantees human rights regardless of the miners’ alleged criminality.
The sacrifice of artisanal miners in Stilfontein is not the first time the South African state has enacted violence on mineworkers simply trying to put food on the table. The Marikana Massacre in August 2012, in which 34 miners were shot dead, will forever be etched in South Africans’ collective memory.
For far too long the government has enabled the antagonisation of people who have taken a stand against corporations seeking to exploit their natural resources and labour for profit. In places such as Xolobeni, where Shell attempted to extract oil and gas, against the wishes of the community. In Makhasaneni near Melmoth in KwaZulu-Natal, where Jindaal Steel & Power is attempting to mine iron ore on graves and people’s homes against the wishes of the community.
On Wednesday, 5 February, people gathered at the doorstep of the Mining Indaba held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre calling for justice for those sacrificed in Stilfontein.
Mahdio Mohapi, from the Catholic Justice and Peace Commission in Klerksdorp, near Stilfontein, had been part of the group providing humanitarian services to those who resurfaced from the shafts.
“I helped to rescue the bodies. It was so painful to see your brothers being treated like dogs in Stilfontein,” she said at the picket. “Remember when Minister Ntshavheni said she will ‘smoke them out’? Well, now she has smoked them out.”
The picket was meant to send a message to the gathering attended by some of the powerful in the mining industry and government officials including ministers and heads of state that artisanal miners should not be criminalised for trying to make a livelihood for themselves and their families.
In his opening remarks at the Mining in Indaba, Mineral and Petroleum Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe made it clear where the government stands. He reiterated the government’s stance that it will not help those still stuck at Shaft 11 and labelled them criminals. Mantashe told the Indaba that “South Africans say on humanitarian grounds, it’s a human rights issue, please protect the illegal miners. Give them food. Give them treatment. Give them this and that. And I ask: you want us to be humanitarian when dealing with criminals? What are we going to do when we must deal with people who are genuine and contributing to the economy?”
This criminalisation comes after Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni took to the podium in front of journalists late last year and announced that South Africa would fold its arms at the tragedy that befell these miners. According to Ntshavheni, the miners were stuck in the depths of the earth, which was their own doing, and the state would not be involved in any rescue of “criminals”.
Ntshavheni’s comments are despicable. They go against our Constitution which allows any accused person the right to a free and fair trial rather than persecution and a death sentence.
When the news first broke of the trapped artisanal miners in Stilfontein, Ntshavheni called for their “persecution”. Indeed, they were persecuted by the state’s inaction, leading to the death of nearly 100 people through deprivation of water, food and healthcare, which are also fundamental rights enshrined by our Constitution.
Ntshavheni remarked: “We didn’t send them there and they didn’t go down there for the good benefit and good intentions of the Republic,” referring to the artisanal’s alleged criminality. And yet, just last week the Hawks announced that it would be launching an investigation into alleged criminality by the minister herself. She has been implicated in alleged corruption, according to a 2022 Open Secrets Investigative Report on State Capture. When the news of this report and investigation was made public, no one called for her persecution, nor should they have. Why then were the miners of Stilfontein not afforded the same opportunity? Why then was the modus operandi of xenophobia mobilised to assuage the government of its wrongdoing?
It seems that who we consider human, how we understand criminality and who gets the right to a fair trial — and who does not — is deeply tied to the systems that allow for the government’s complicity in the disregard for human rights of those it deems disposable. Our economies cannot be built on the backs of human suffering. Showing these connections and speaking truth to power will always be the first step in creating a more just world.
Luvo Mnyobe is a multimedia storyteller and digital communications coordinator at African Climate Alliance.
