In asking for a final order that government must be compelled to assist the miners “trapped” underground in Stilfontein, in the North West, the lawyer acting for the Society for the Protection of Our Constitution said that using tactics such as starvation to try and force them out is tantamount to brutality.
“All we ask is for government to comply with the Bill of Rights,” Yasmin Omar yesterday told the Gauteng High Court.
Judge Brenda Neukircher reserved judgment in the application for the court to urgently come to the aid of the miners who are said to be still trapped underground.
The court on Saturday issued an interim order that pending finalisation of the application, the mineshaft must be unblocked and must not be locked by any person or institution, whether government or private. Any miners trapped in the mine shaft shall be permitted to exit.
The parties were back in court this week, with government and the police asking the court to turn down the application. Advocate Bongi Lukhele, who argued on behalf of the Minister of Mineral Resources, once again stressed that the miners were not trapped, as they could surface from an alternative shaft that had been opened.
He told Judge Neukircher that they do not want to surface, as they fear being arrested by the waiting police. He said they should not have been in the mine in the first place and stressed that the SAPS has a job to do and the court should not aid their lawlessness.
Judge Neukircher, after listening to both the applicant and Lukhele, said this is a very important matter and she will deliver her judgment no later than on Monday.
Lukhele, meanwhile, stressed that those who want to get out can do so via the Magaret mine shaft as an emergency exit point without risking their lives.
Buffelsfontein Gold Mines has, meanwhile, also engaged the mine rescue services to assist the illegal miners in exiting the Stilfontein mine shaft. They are conducting a risk analysis which is essential before they can start with their operations. It is said that the mine is 2km deep and it is dangerous to simply enter the mine.
Lukhele told Judge Neukircher that the lives of the miners are not in danger, as they can exit if they wanted to. He also said those who had surfaced to date did not complain that they were ill-treated by the police or in any danger.
“The reason why they are there is because of illegal mining. They are not supposed to be there,” he said.
Although the SAPS have allowed them to be provided with some food, water, and medicine, Lukhele said this cannot simply continue to make it easier for them to remain there.
“The purpose is to get them out,” he said.
Lukhele told the court that the applicants are basing their application on assumptions that the miners’ lives are in danger and that the SAPS won’t allow them to surface. He pointed out that the applicants have not spoken to a single miner who has meanwhile resurfaced to hear firsthand what is happening. The applicants are instead relying on news and other reports.
Omar, meanwhile, argued that the fact that some miners exited the mine is irrelevant to this application. She said the applicant seeks a final order that basic necessities be provided to those underground.
“For as long as the presence of the police keeps these people underground, the State is responsible for their well-being,” she said.
Omar said the stance of the government is that the miners are criminals and will not be assisted, and they are willing to employ a starvation strategy to get the people out.
Judge Neukircher questioned Omar about the fact that the government said there is an alternative mineshaft through which the miners can enter and that according to their arguments, more than 500 people to date have already exited through this shaft.
Omar responded that when they turned to court on Saturday, no mention was made of this alternative exit shaft. She maintained that it is in any event blocked by the SAPS, who are ready to arrest anyone who resurfaced.
“They are not free to exit. The police are there waiting for them,” she said.
The judge pointed out that the SAPS had a job to do. Omar responded that the applicant only wanted these people to be treated with humanity and they were not against the SAPS doing their work.
Omar said starving the people and putting their lives at risk was not the way to go about things. She told the court that the SAPS may regard these people as criminals, but criminals also have rights.
Pretoria News
zelda.venter@inl.co.za