It’s not our job to retrieve criminals, says Ntshavheni on illegal miners

Minister in the presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni has laughed off questions about whether the government is considering helping about 4,500 illegal miners underground in Stilfontein, North West.

Last week, police reported that the number of illegal miners who had surfaced at Stilfontein between October 18 and November 5 had risen to 1,004. Police and the army have since last month blocked routes used to deliver food to the miners.

A community member who went underground to talk to the miners on Tuesday told police there were “about 4,500" underground. He said the miners told him they were “too weak to come up” and had asked for food and water.

Brig Sabata Mokgwabone said the miners were sent water on Tuesday evening.

Briefing the media on Wednesday after the cabinet’s regular meeting, Ntshavheni said it was “not the government’s job to retrieve criminals”.

“You want us to send help to criminals? You want us to send help to criminals, honestly?” she asked. “We’re not sending help to criminals. We’re going to smoke them out, they will come out. Criminals are not to be helped, criminals are to be prosecuted.

“We didn’t send them there and they didn’t go down there for the benefit of the republic, so we can’t help them. Those who want to help them, they must go and take the food down there. They will come out and we’ll arrest them.”

She said it was too  risky for police to go underground.

“So you want us to send our law enforcement officers to risk their lives because of criminals who want to destroy our country? What if when we send police or the military down there to supply them with food and the place explodes and caves in, what will happen? No, we’re not sending any help, they will come out. It’s not our job to retrieve bodies of criminals.” 

She said families had been protecting the miners. 

“When we ask whether families know if their children are involved in zama zamas, nobody came out and said they know. If your child is missing because they are dead underground from illegal mining, you must come tell us why you didn’t report them.

“Our programme is to smoke people out and close the [shafts] so that they cannot do illegal mining.  It’s only in SA that you are told a criminal does not have a comfortable bed in prison.” 

Mokgwabone said on Wednesday two miners came to the surface after food and water had been sent the day before.

“On Tuesday, the community sent one person down to talk to those underground. When he came back he told us the people were weak. They need to be given something so they can tie themselves to ropes and come out. He said the illegal miners were not refusing to come out but were too weak to.”

Mokgwabone said the community member told police there were bodies underground.

The police are monitoring the situation. 

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