Stilfontein community leaders pin blame on Ntshavheni over 'smoke them out' comment
Some of the zama zamas are believed to have starved to death after police cut off food and water supply during an operation to clamp down on illegal mining in the area.
Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni during a post-Cabinet meeting briefing on 22 August 2024. Picture: @GovernmentZA/X
JOHANNESBURG - The Stilfontein saga is back to haunt Minister in The Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, as community leaders pin the blame on her.
This is after close to 80 dead bodies were recovered from an abandoned gold mine in Stilfontein this week.
READ: Remains of more than 70 Stilfontein illegal miners yet to be identified
Some of the zama zamas are believed to have starved to death after police cut off food and water supply during an operation to clamp down on illegal mining in the area.
In 2024, Ntshavheni came under fire after she commented on the Stilfontein crisis, threatening that the government would persecute the zama zamas.
Spokesperson for the South African National Civic Organisation (SANCO) in the North West, Mzukisi Jam said: “Their intention was to smoke people out so we must congratulate them because they succeeded. But our journey doesn’t end here, someone must account.
“We are still going to engage on two things, whether we opt for a commission of inquiry or we devise other means.”
Community activist Thembile Bortman believes the death toll at shaft 11 is above 100.
“Because there are people that managed to resurface that are saying we left bodies there, we left people hanging.”