Police cut off water and food supplies to miners, insisting they “will not negotiate with criminals”
Police have said they will not be held responsible for any casualties that may occur during the operation by local rescue teams to rescue illegal miners trapped in an abandoned mine in Stilfontein in the northwest.
National police spokesperson Brigadier General Aterenda Mate said law enforcement officials would not risk their lives by allowing police and soldiers to go underground to rescue them. Mail and Guardian.
“Firstly, there are harmful gases flowing there. There is a high risk of loss of life and our information suggests that these illegal miners may be heavily armed.” Mate said.
Local residents who decide to help the miners are made to sign indemnity forms that release the government from liability in the event of their death or injury, she added.
“We are receiving calls from the community who want to take their loved ones and we are dealing with complex situations. We are getting them to sign compensation forms.
“We have consulted the mine owner and the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy and confirmed that it is not safe to go there,” Mate said.
“We have made them experience the risks and consequences of going there, and yet they request to go and save their loved ones. It is a last resort. It is safe. Instead, we reiterated this to our community members and they signed on, and on that basis we allowed them.
“If there is any danger, injury, death, the government is not responsible because we are putting them through the danger, the consequences, etc.”
Mate referred to the 2022 gang rape of eight women on the West Rand, allegedly by a group of illegal miners, and said South Africans would soon forget crimes related to illegal miners. .
She said the South African Police Service (SAPS) would not negotiate with criminals.
“We have a job to do as SAPS and we are not going to back down. What is happening there is illegal and we are just enforcing the law.
“We are not going to glorify crime. We are not going to allow crime to flourish on our watch. We are not going to glorify crime. We are not going to allow crime to flourish on our watch. I am doing it.”
Mr Mate's comments follow remarks by Presidential Minister Khumbutso Nshabheni, who said at a press conference this week that the government would not attempt to rescue those trapped in the mines, but would instead “smoke them out”. he said.
“We didn't send them there, and they…didn't go there for the benefit of the Republic. So we can't help them. Anyone who wants to help them can't go there. We have to go and get the food. They will come out. We will arrest them,” she said.
On Thursday, Stilfontein Kaiser Modiba's chief of operations confirmed that police had cut off food and water supplies for two days.
During a site visit by M&Gresidents gathered outside the mine, some helping to pull out those trapped underground. At least 200 men, women and children sat waiting to see if their loved ones would show up.
Rescue workers used a 1,600-meter-long rope and lowered it to the ground, hoping someone would grab it and pull it up. meanwhile M&G was nearby, and the decomposing corpse was pulled to the ground using ropes.
A community member who went underground and asked to remain anonymous said thousands of people were still trapped underground. They were on the ground, weak and hungry, and had no light to help them find their way out. It is said that many people died underground.
“The place stinks and people are dying there. It's not that people are refusing to go out – there's no food, there's no water, there's no strength to go out,” he said. said. M&G.
“It's so dark there, there's no light, so it's difficult for them to move around. So they asked for flashlights and batteries for lighting.
“We have just helped rescue the body, but it is not the only body as there are still bodies underground. It has been three days since we started helping.
“They are [the authorities] They are denying them food and killing them. We feel as if the words of ministers and police are killing them.
“Even if we decide as a community to stop rescuing them, they won't want to do it. They'll just watch these people die underground, and this means they won't be killed.” It means you tolerate these people.
“They just want to take advantage of the plight we are facing here and gain popularity. Their job here is only to kill people. Even if the criminals are arrested for murder. , give them food.”
Another resident, who gave his name only as Thato, said police make rescue workers sign indemnity forms to avoid liability for injuries or deaths, and when dealing with people willing to risk their lives for underground gold mining. said that the same principles should apply.
“Why not allow us to take the risks every day so that we can mine peacefully without interference from the government? We want the government to give us permission to go in at our own risk.” Mr. Tato said. M&G.
“They should make us sign compensation forms throughout the year so we can come in and sell whatever we get on the open market.
“Another problem is that when people come out, the police arrest them and we don't know what's going on. I don't have family here, but I know people who are underground, so I’m here to help them.”
Police spokesman Mr Mate insisted it was not true that the illegal miners were trapped and said they were refusing to come out.
“If they were trapped, they were conducting a legitimate operation. They are refusing to resurface,” she said.
“This is a last resort by a caring government. We have taken every step to safely resurface these illegal miners, but despite our efforts as SAPS, they refused to resurface.
“We even printed flyers in different languages to say please come out or use a different shaft to exit, but they wouldn’t do that.”
“As SAPS, we will take advice and consider all possible solutions to get these people back on their feet and resurface. We will use this information to make the necessary responsible decisions. Based on that, we allow them access. Yes, it's a crime scene, but it's not tampered with. There's no crime scene on the surface, but the crime scene is underground.”
Responding to allegations that some illegal miners were forced to work there, Mate said police were aware of the allegations and an investigation was underway.
“We have heard that there are people who want to resurface but are being prevented from doing so because of intimidation,” she said.
