Stilfontein protesters demand commission of inquiry into police conduct

Protesters held up posters condemning the police as they made their way through the streets of Pretoria towards the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy on Wednesday. Photos: Ihsaan Haffejee

Under the banner of the Stilfontein Solidarity Committee, over 100 protesters gathered outside the offices of the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy in Pretoria on Wednesday. They called for accountability for the deaths of at least 78 miners. They also demanded Minister Gwede Mantashe resign.

Among those protesting was 35-year-old Clement Moeletsi. Born and raised in Khuma, he remembers better times in the township. The mines were operating and people had jobs. “There was always food on the table,” he says.

When the mines closed, life became extremely hard.

In 2022, without any mining experience, Moletsi joined others and made his way into the abandoned gold mine shafts.

“I did it because of hunger, because I wanted to make something of my life for me and my family, even though people told us it’s very dangerous down there,” he said.

He used to work three-month stints underground before resurfacing.

“I managed to earn a living and take care of my family. It was tough work, but I was making something at least,” he said.

Moeletsi says on 24 July 2024, he went underground to work. Months later, police began their operations, cutting off food and water supplies to the miners. He said they were starving. At one stage, he wanted to end his life.

Community efforts to rescue the miners began in November.

On 9 December, Moeletsi was brought to the surface with a rudimentary pulley system used by a community rescue team. He says he was arrested and charged.

“The situation in Khuma is bad right now. The money from the zama zama mining that kept food on the table is not there any longer. People are struggling. Crime is increasing; mostly people are stealing food,” he said.

He has had no income since he resurfaced. He is trying to grow vegetables in his yard.

Meshack Mbangula, national coordinator of Mining Affected Communities United in Action, said they want a commission of inquiry into the police’s conduct at Stilfontein.

“We believe poor people’s constitutional rights were violated and the government needs to be held accountable for the deaths of those miners. We also want to assist the families affected to receive some sort of justice,” he said.

Protesters carried a coffin and displayed a collection of hard hats as a memorial to the dead miners.

Clement Moeletsi worked as a zama zama in Stilfontein. He joined the protest calling for justice for the miners who died underground.

A display of miners’ hard hats in memory of the miners who lost their lives underground in Stilfontein.

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