The South African Police Service (SAPS) said it will send Antiretroviral (ARV) medication to the illegal miners who refuse to resurface at the disused Stilfontein mine shaft in the North West.
The announcement was made on Monday after the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria issued an interim order which ruled that the shaft may not be blocked by any person or institution whether government or private.
Judge Brenda Neukircher ordered that relief workers should be granted access to the mine, where thousands of workers are believed to be trapped and in desperate need of medical attention and food.
The lifeline came after an urgent application by the Society for the Protection of Our Constitution following the government’s hardline approach against the miners which it labelled as “criminals”.
On Monday, authorities on site together with community rescue teams received a note from the illegal miners written in Zulu asking for ARVs.
“Sicela ama ARVs plz, abantu bayawadinga ngapha. Siyacela bandla”.
Translated in English: “Can we please have ARV pills. People need them here, please.”
The zama zamas who go underground in the hope of finding any remaining gold and mineral deposits have apparently been blocked from leaving the shaft.
Even though over 1,000 miners have been captured and sent to the surface, it's thought that hundreds more are still stuck in the shaft.
This comes as a result result of a crackdown on illegal mining by police and soldiers known as Operation Vala Umgodi.
Authorities had blocked access to the mine and stopped those providing the miners with food and water.
Responding to the interim court order, SAPS national spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said the court order does not in anyway prevent SAPS from performing its constitutional mandate.
“SAPS static deployment operations continue at all abandoned and disused mining shafts in the Stilfontein area, where a call is once again made to all illegal miners to resurface. The order does not in anyway prevent SAPS from performing its constitutional mandate,” said Mathe.
“All those who resurface will continue to be assessed by emergency medical personnel on site, as has been the case. Those that are in a good health will be processed and detained. Those that require further medical care will be taken to hospital under police guard,” she added.
sinenhlanhla.masilela@iol.co.za
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