‘We are not even dealing with South Africans’: Deputy Police Minister Polly Boshielo says Stilfontein sets wrong precedent

Deputy Minister of Police, Polly Boshielo says the wholly suspended sentences given to illegal miners is a setback to the extensive efforts by government to combat illicit mining.

Last week, IOL reported that some of the illegal miners, who were arrested after being rescued from disused mines at Stilfontein, North West, had appeared in court where they received wholly suspended sentences.

The second batch of illegal miners, colloquially known as zama zamas, appeared before the Stilfontein Magistrate’s Court on December 31 where they were sentenced for illicit mining and contravention of the Immigration Act.

“The accused include 10 Lesotho nationals, four Mozambican and five Zimbabwean undocumented foreign nationals with ages between 20 and 43," said North West provincial police spokesperson, Brigadier Sabata Mokgwabone.

"The court handed down six months imprisonment or R12,000 fine to each of the accused for illegal mining.” 

The sentences are wholly suspended for a period of five years on condition that the miners are not convicted again for illegal mining committed during the period of suspension.

The illegal miners were further sentenced to three months imprisonment or R6,000 fine which is wholly suspended for five years on condition that they are not convicted for contravention of South Africa’s Immigration Act.

Speaking to Newzroom Afrika on Wednesday, Boshielo said the court sentences were a setback in combatting illicit mining across South Africa.

“It’s a setback … 997 are Mozambicans, Zimbabweans are 427, Basotho 120, South Africans 21, Congolese one and Malawian one. You can see those people are illegal. We are setting a wrong precedence to say people can get under the ground, do illegal mining, get all the money and everything, then we will then come and rescue them as government, or people will come and say there are human rights, humanities and then take us to court on illegal things,” she said.

“Next time, I can tell you, it is going to come out from somewhere and the very same people will be taking us to court. Then there will be chaos in this country, and there will be lawlessness.

“We are not even dealing with South Africans who really you can say they are trying to make a living. They are illegal. They don’t even have correct documentation. I can tell you, what we are doing now is a bad, bad precedence. This is an attack and sabotage to our economy, but we are trying to protect them and make them heroes.”

The deputy minister insisted police did not cause the starvation of any miners.

“We were not blocking any food (for the miners). We were just getting people who were getting out and then arresting them,” she said.

In December, IOL reported that the High Court in Pretoria found that the police were in breach of the court order which allowed the community, volunteers, and charitable organisations to provide essentials such as food and water to the miners underground.

At the time, a community-based organisation, the Mining Affected Community in Action (Macua), had again approached the court following a ruling that the SAPS must allow miners at Stilfontein to immediately be supplied with food, water, and medication from the community and charitable organisations.

On Wednesday, IOL also reported that South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) has castigated government for the agonizing death of more than 50 miners at Stilfontein, North West, whose bodies have now been extracted following a months-long standoff.

On the second day of the State-sponsored rescue mission, a total of 106 illegal miners were brought to surface and arrested for illegal mining. A total of 51 bodies of the miners were also extracted from the mine shaft.

jonisayi.maromo@iol.co.za

IOL