• Armed Lesotho nationals are forcing illegal miners in Stilfontein to work for food and water, with reports of extreme conditions underground.

• SAPS confirms 14 Mozambican miners, including a 14-year-old, resurfaced; a court dismissed calls for state aid to illegal miners underground.

Ten heavily armed Lesotho nationals are reportedly guarding illegal miners at disused and abandoned mines in Stilfontein, North West province

The armed bandits are apparently forcing them to dig for gold.

The zama zamas claim that food and water taken underground a few days ago were confiscated by these armed Basotho guards, leaving them with nothing to eat or drink.

They are instead forced to work in exchange for food and water.

This was revealed by a group of zama zamas who resurfaced on Sunday night and told authorities about the armed men underground.

Police have confirmed that among those who were underground was a 14-year-old boy from Mozambique. The teenager has resurfaced.

National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said a total of 14 illegal miners resurfaced on Saturday night. “They are all Mozambicans and are in police custody,” she said.

Mathe said that confirms what the police have always maintained: no one is trapped underground.

On Monday, the North Gauteng High Court dismissed an application brought by the Society for the Protection of Our Constitution.

Among other demands, the application called for different government departments, including SAPS, to provide emergency disaster relief to illegal miners underground. This included food, water, medical aid, blankets, and other relief measures.

It also wanted to force government departments, including SAPS, to remove the allegedly trapped miners from underground.

National SAPS Commissioner General Fannie Masemola welcomed the judgment handed down by the North Gauteng High Court.

Mathe said SAPS has never violated constitutional rights to life or dignity.

“The SAPS has never blocked any shaft or prevented any illegal miner from exiting through any disused mine shaft, as is evident with the 1,239 illegal miners who have resurfaced in the past few weeks.

“The SAPS remains adamant that no illegal miner is trapped underground. They refuse to resurface because they are avoiding arrest.

“As a caring government department, SAPS has also allowed limited food and water supplies to be taken underground in the past two weeks. Instant porridge, mageu, and water were indeed provided,” she said.

She added that medical emergency personnel have been on standby to treat those who resurface.

Mathe said SAPS is mandated under section 205 of the Constitution to prevent and combat crime, as well as maintain law and order. This aligns with the objective of Operation Vala Umgodi, which aims to prevent and combat illicit mining in Stilfontein.

SAPS operations continue with static deployments to enforce the rule of law.

Pictured above: The Stilfontein mine.

Source: SAPS