MANYANE MANYANE
Human rights lawyer Mametlwe Sebei has warned that police will have to deal with consequences if they continue to ignore calls to transfer the Stilfontein Zama zamas to hospitals.
He said police could not deny the miners their rights to life as stated in the Constitution.
Sebei, who is the president of labour union, the General Industries Workers Union of South Africa (Giwusa) cautioned that conditions will worsen should there be a further delay for the illegal miners to receive medical treatment.
These views came after the Stilfontein Solidarity committee accused police of detaining the miners, instead of transferring them to hospitals.
The zama zamas have been trapped underground in the Stilfontein mine since August last year following the establishment of the police’s Operation Vala Umgodi, which various civil society organisations blamed for destroying community-led rescue initiatives and blocking life-saving supplies, resulting in starvation, dehydration and deaths from hazardous conditions.
At least 78 illegal gold miners have died and more than 240 were rescued from the gold mine during a recent rescue operation.
The committee, made up of various civil organisations including Giwusa, said it was concerned that police were not willing to send the “survivors of the Stilfontein massacre” to hospitals for urgent treatment.
The committee added that only 25 of the 246 survivors were admitted to hospitals during the rescue operation.
“People who have been subjected to starvation and dehydration for many months are in immediate danger of refeeding syndrome, which can be fatal. This can be prevented by experienced medical professionals feeding these survivors correctly.
“There has also been a report of deadly typhoid in the corpses, which is alarming. The survivors are severely immunocompromised and on the verge of death and cannot afford to catch typhoid without antibiotic treatment,” read the statement.
“In light of the treatment of these survivors, who were also drinking water contaminated by arsenic and radioactive substances, these and other critical concerns have been voiced publicly by several doctors and healthcare professionals,” the committee added.
The committee said following the rescue mission, the survivors should have been hospitalised immediately, but instead, “they were thrown in jail and processed by police, mostly for pending deportation for their contravention of the Immigration Act”.
“Before any further decision is made, the constitutional right to life must be upheld. We call on SAPS to immediately send all survivors to hospitals for treatment and check -ups to prevent further death from complications of starvation, dehydration and contaminated water, brought about by their callous and deliberate starvation of these people.”
However, both SAPS and the Department of Health said the narrative that the illegal miners are not receiving adequate medical care, is devoid of truth.
In a joint response, police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe said the SAPS is working closely with the Department of Health in the North West in ensuring that health care is provided to illegal miners in police holding cells.
“On a daily basis, SAPS members conduct inspections at police holding cells. Those that require further medical care are referred and admitted to a local hospital under police guard.
“The number of those admitted in hospital has thus risen from nine on Monday, January 13 to thirty-two on Tuesday, January 21, 2025. All who are hospitalised are currently under police guard,’’ she said.