Judgment reserved in Stilfontein illegal miners’ case

An undisclosed number of suspected illegal miners remained underground at shaft 11 of the disused Buffelsfontein gold mine.

The non-governmental organisation Society for the Protection of Our Constitution urgently approached the court to challenge the constitutionality of police action during an anti-illicit mining operation.

The organisation has accused the government of starving suspected illegal miners by blocking access routes that they had been using to deliver essential items, including food and water, thereby violating their right to life and dignity.

While the state maintained that those who remained underground chose to do so to evade arrest, attorney Yasmin Omar accused the government of attempting to force the miners into submission or face imminent death.

“It’s not the intention of the applicant to dictate to the police how to do their job. We’re alive to the fact that there are laws governing how people must be brought to court to face justice and for law and order.

“What the applicant is contending is, having regard to that, there are various ways to get people to court and the least harsh method should be employed. The fact that the least harsh method is not being employed is a violation of the basic rights of the people underground.”

In his response on behalf of the state, advocate Bonginkosi Lukhekele argued that limited aid has been provided to the miners and an alternative exit remains open. 

He further argued that the trapped miners sought to prolong their stay underground.

“There are people outside who attempt to bring generators to miners who are trapped. It shows that this is a serious criminal syndicate. When the court looks at this application, it can’t look at it in the sense that its helpless miners who are down there.”

Lukhele asked the court not to bar police from executing their mandate of preventing and combatting crime, especially since illicit mining has been identified as an activity which threatens the economy and the safety of citizens.

He said the applicant needed to gather facts, produce evidence, and meet the legal requirements to obtain the interdict it sought from the court.

During her arguments, Omar conceded that they were unable to attach statements from the alleged victims or their relatives. Instead, they relied on media reports and statements from organisations such as the South African Federation of Trade Unions.

“It is trite that as a matter of law, interdict is a remedy of invasion of rights, whether in the past or present and that invasion of rights has to emanate from facts of what transpired.

“In this case, we don’t have any affidavit claiming miners to be trapped underground, that their right to life, dignity, and health is undermined by the respondents,” contended Lukhele.

Judgment will be delivered by Monday next week.

WON'T STAND DOWN

Speaking outside court, national police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe said there were no plans to stand down from the operation at the Stilfontein mine. 

Authorities confirmed that the mine rescue team on site entered the second phase of plans to extract the miners. 

"We're of the view that the court will deliver a judgment that is fair and balanced, that will take into consideration the rights of everyone involved including the illegal miners and our constitutional mandate as the SAPS. 

"We've always maintained that we're acting within the ambit of the law and that we're executing our mandate according to section 205 of the Constitution. Operations are continuing. We're still standing static at all these disused mines in all the provinces that we're operating in."

Since its inception in December 2023, more than 13,691 suspects have been arrested in the seven provinces that were flagged as hotspots for illegal mining.

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