The informal camp outside the Lily Mine in Barberton was destroyed on April 8.
The camp was built in April 2019 by the families of the three deceased miners whose bodies had been trapped underground since 2016 when the mine had collapsed. They hoped setting up camp outside the mine would put pressure on the government to retrieve the bodies of their loved ones.
Last Thursday, a group of assailants attacked the families and set the shacks alight.
The families said that the assailants are illegal miners who do not want the Lily Mine to be reopened.
The acting provincial SAPS spokesperson, Col Donald Mdluli, said the police opened an inquiry into the matter after the victims had been reluctant to open a case.
“The victims informed the police then that they wanted to firstly communicate with their legal representatives. Only later in the evening was the case of arson opened, with an additional charge of theft,” said Mdluli.
An investigation is under way, but no arrests have been made.
“The families and children suffer undue emotional harm without having buried them with dignity so they can all find closure,” said Herman Mashaba, president of the political party, ActionSA, in a statement. “The more I think about the Lily Mine tragedy, the more I feel even more betrayed by our government for allowing this to happen.”
In a 2017 report, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy found the mine’s management was to blame for the collapse.
“Despite prior smaller collapses, which were not reported as required by law, mining continued without the necessary safety measures recommended by rock and engineering specialists.”
On March 30, former Lily Mine workers marched to the Mpumalanga High Court to protest the court interdict against the mine’s reopening, one of their demands being that the bodies of the three miners be retrieved.
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