Govt accused of genocide in tackling Stilfontein’s illegal miners

Community and family members picket on the sidelines during rescue operations for trapped miners at the abandoned Buffelsfontein gold mine in Stilfontein, South Africa, on Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. It's unclear exactly how many people remain underground and are unable to resurface, with some estimates putting the number at at least 1,000. Photographer: Leon Sadiki/Bloomberg via Getty Images

AT least 78 bodies and more than 200 survivors have been pulled out of the Buffelsfontein near Stilfontein in South Africa’s North West province since a court on Monday ordered the Government to assist with rescue efforts.

In total, 324 people including survivors and dead bodies were retrieved. Some families say they are still looking for their loved ones.

With no more illegal miners are believed to be trapped underground, questions are being asked about the Government’s approach in an episode described by the BBC as one of the most extraordinary tragedies to hit the industry.

The stand-off began in November when the government ordered police to arrest any miner who surfaced, saying it was determined to end illegal mining.

But it’s approach estranged the local Stilfontein community and NGOs which culminated in government officials being told on Tuesday to leave the mine, believing they were ultimately responsible for the deaths of the miners.

“It’s a crime against the economy, it’s an attack on the economy,” Mines Minister Gwede Mantashe said on Wednesday as he defended the hard line taken against the miners.

Al Jazeera asked, however, in a report whether South Africa had starved dozens of miners to death? This is the view of aid groups who described the events as “a massacre”.

The publication said that in court petitions, recently rescued miners revealed that the conditions underground forced people to eat cockroaches and human flesh and that some people trying to escape had fallen to their death.

Parallels have also been drawn between Stilfontein and Marikana, a mine in South Africa’s platinum belt where 34 protesting miners were gunned down and hundreds other injured in 2012 amid a wage dispute with Lonmin.

Al Jazeera quoted South African police spokesperson Athlende Mathe as saying on Wednesday that the deaths recorded were not the police’s fault. “The kingpins, those that are behind these operations, are the ones that should be held accountable,” she said.

A miners’ rights group, MACUA (Mining Affected Communities United in Action) said the crisis was a “massacre, if not a genocide”, because the government’s “intention” to use starvation as a tool to force out the miners encroached on their right to life.

“The fact of the matter is their calculated actions, how they responded to the humanitarian crisis, resulted in the mass deaths,” spokesperson Magnificent Mndebele told Al Jazeera.

Rescued miners would be treated in hospital before appearing in court. But the Democratic Alliance is calling for an investigation. James Lorimer, the shadow mines minister said the DA sent a letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa calling for a “full and transparent” investigation into the “disaster”. The DA also said the role of government agencies, as well as the mine owners and operators, should be investigated.

“The DA urges President Ramaphosa to act swiftly, while witnesses are still available, to ensure that this inquiry takes place. A transparent investigation will help uncover the full scope of the crisis and prevent future tragedies of this nature,” Lorimer added.