The Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, has ordered immediate humanitarian aid for Stilfontein miners. Picture: Timothy Bernard / Independent Newspapers
The trapped miners at Stilfontein are now able to receive immediate food, water, and medication from community and charitable organisations, following an urgent application to the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, on Sunday.
This decision comes amid grave concerns for the miners’ survival, with reports of fatalities underground and those still alive struggling to survive on minimal resources.
The community-based organisation, Mining Affected Community in Action (Macua), sought an urgent court order to compel the government to provide humanitarian aid to the miners.
Judge Nicolene van Nieuwenhuizen granted an interim order allowing for the immediate provision of aid, which will remain in effect until a full court hearing on Thursday.
This latest application follows a previous one by the Society for the Protection of Our Constitution, which was dismissed by Judge Brenda Neukircher.
The court had accepted government assurances that the miners were not trapped and could exit through the Margaret shaft, with rescue operations under way.
However, Macua’s national administrator, Sabelo Mnguni, contended that many miners are indeed trapped and require urgent assistance, as some are too weak to reach the exit.
The application, supported by Lawyers for Human Rights, included affidavits from miners who have surfaced, revealing that at least four bodies were found underground.
Macua is also calling for the court to declare the police’s actions — using starvation and dehydration as a tool against criminality — as unconstitutional and to allow community rescue efforts to resume.
Mnguni highlighted the humanitarian crisis affecting hundreds to thousands of miners trapped underground for nearly three months due to Operation Vala Umgodi.
He emphasised that the applicants are not opposed to the operation itself, but rather to its execution.
Despite promises of rescue services, no miners have been rescued thus far, and concerns remain about the timeline for these operations.
Conditions in the nearly 2km deep mine are dire, with narrow tunnels, extreme heat, and limited visibility.
Miners are reportedly 20km away from the Margaret shaft, and many have turned back due to hazardous conditions, including a large pool of water that poses unknown risks.
The Star
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