"I pray everyday that he is safe but at this point I will accept anything I'm told about his wellbeing. I ask everyday and no one has said they have seen him or heard of his name anywhere. But I have accepted the situation because already, there are nearly 100 people who are dead," said Santho.
Zinzi Tom, who is behind the court application to force government's rescue intervention, said she was hopeful her brother Ayanda was still alive.
"I am exhausted. I always have to remind myself that this is not all about me and I need to keep going and be strong for my family and others. I do have hope he (Ayanda) is still alive because someone who was rescued on Monday said he last saw him two weeks ago," she said.
Jessica Lawrence, senior attorney for Lawyers for Human Rights, said the situation in Stilfontein could have been avoided.
"We characterise this situation as a human rights crisis, which we believe was entirely preventable. So what we are seeing is the unfolding of a crisis which we believe is a consequence of the operation implemented by the police and was preventable and avoidable," she said.
‘I saw people starve to death around me’, says illegal miner
A zama zama relives torrid time he spent underground
Image: Supplied
As the horrific death toll from Stilfontein rescue operation continues to shock the country, illegal miners have told disturbing stories of their starved colleagues being forced to eat cockroaches in order to survive.
"I regret the day I set my foot in there. I saw people starve to death around me. I was just waiting for my turn to die," said Patrick, who emerged from shaft 10 at Buffelsfontein mine on Christmas Day. He had been underground for four months after he accepted a job offer that would drastically change his life forever.
FactBox
● Of the 121 illegal miners
deported from Stilfontein, 80
were Mozambicans, 30 Basotho,
10 Zimbabweans and one
Malawian,
● The 46 miners that were found
guilty of illegal mining were each
handed a fine of R12,000 or a six
months sentence wholly
suspended for five years,
● Since December 2023, police
have confiscated 640kg of goldbearing material, 6.2kg of refined gold, explosives and firearms.
Speaking to Sowetan from his house in Khuma, a few kilometres from where heavy machinery and rescuers are hard at work retrieving illegal miners and bodies of their colleagues, Patrick said he spent three weeks without food after police blocked their supplies, including medicine, during Operation Vala Mgodi in August.
"I survived on salt water. Some people ate cockroaches just to make it to the next day. I walked around corpses, even touched them. A person would start by complaining about hunger until they stopped talking and later you realise they had died," said Patrick.
He said the combination of hunger and living among the dead had scarred him mentally. "Even now I am still traumatised. I think about the dead bodies I saw everyday, how people died. I am exhausted mentally. I would never go back there. Now I have a criminal record."
He exited through Shaft 10, which was a two-hour walk from Shaft 11, however it took him five days to climb up to the surface using rocks.
Since the rescue efforts started on Monday, 78 bodies have been retrieved by 4pm on Wednesday, while 216 miners were rescued.
Mandla Charles, a self-confessed illegal miner who is now part of the rescue team, was on Clement Manyathela Show on 702 on Wednesday, and spoke about how he had not been able to eat since Monday when he made his first trip underground using a cage.
He rejected the allegations by the police that the illegal miners were not trapped.
"These men are desperate to get out. They even fight, wanting to be the first to get into the cage. We had to calm them down. The first time we went down they saw us as their gods coming to rescue them," said Charles.
He said most of the deceased died from starvation and some of them had not gone to the bathroom to relieve themselves for three months while others defecated bloody fluids.
Timeline for the Stilfontein saga
● In December 2023, the government launches Operation Vala Mgodi to tackle illegal mining across the country,
● Police arrest several illegal miners in Stilfontein, North West, and cut off food supply to the miners,
● In August last year, there are reports that zama zamas in Stilfontein have run out of food and have started resurfacing, with police arresting them,
● By November, 300 illegal miners had resurfaced and appeared in court.
● On November 21, the Pretoria high court hears an urgent application by mining-affected communities seeking to compel the government to provide humanitarian aid and initiate rescue operations,
● On November 25, the court dismisses the application,
● In December, Pretoria high court grants Lawyers for Human Rights an interim order that allows community members and charitable organisations to provide water and food to zama zamas,
● In the same month, the organisation approaches the apex court to appeal the Pretoria high court ruling,
● Last Friday, the Pretoria high court orders government to use mining rescue service to help illegal miners underground to resurface in an urgent application brought by Zinzi Tom, a relative of one of the trapped miners,
● Rescue operations start on Monday, January 13, and by yesterday at 4pm, a total of 216 illegal miners have been rescued while 78 bodies were retrieved.
By Herman Moloi
Dr Angelique Coetzee said ordinarily, humans can die after seven days without water and can live up to 40 days without food, depending on individual's health and their environment.
"If it's hot, humid, or in a confined environment, then your dehydration can set in much more quickly, thereby reducing your survival time. So without water, the body can suffer from severe dehydration within hours," she said, adding that air quality also plays a significant role.
Coetzee said common symptoms of starvation are hallucination, confusion, and organ failure before death.
The rescue mission has also taken its toll on families whose loved ones they have not seen for months.
Nozililo Santho, 47, last saw her son on April 10 last year, and this is the longest he had been away from home as he would normally go underground for a month or two to get a quick buck to support his mom.
"I pray everyday that he is safe but at this point I will accept anything I'm told about his wellbeing. I ask everyday and no one has said they have seen him or heard of his name anywhere. But I have accepted the situation because already, there are nearly 100 people who are dead," said Santho.
Zinzi Tom, who is behind the court application to force government's rescue intervention, said she was hopeful her brother Ayanda was still alive.
"I am exhausted. I always have to remind myself that this is not all about me and I need to keep going and be strong for my family and others. I do have hope he (Ayanda) is still alive because someone who was rescued on Monday said he last saw him two weeks ago," she said.
Jessica Lawrence, senior attorney for Lawyers for Human Rights, said the situation in Stilfontein could have been avoided.
"We characterise this situation as a human rights crisis, which we believe was entirely preventable. So what we are seeing is the unfolding of a crisis which we believe is a consequence of the operation implemented by the police and was preventable and avoidable," she said.
The government rescue operation of illegal miners at the old Buffesfontein gold mine in Stilfontein, North West, that started on Monday has already resulted in the rescue of 56 zama zamas and the discovery of 15 bodies so far. Video: @sinazokos4406
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