South Africa - January 2025

On 16 January, rescuers retrieved 246 unauthorised miners and the bodies of 78 others from a disused mineshaft near the town of Stilfontein, where they had been since the police closed off the site in September 2024, in a bid to end illegal mining. The rescue mission was ordered by the Pretoria High Court, which also mandated the uninterrupted delivery of food, water and medical aid to the miners, after the police reportedly cut off essential supplies to force them to the surface to be arrested. At least 2,000 miners had resurfaced prior to the January rescue, but lawyers said those who had remained underground had been physically trapped and unable to leave unassisted. Rights groups heavily criticised the operation, accusing the authorities of weaponizing starvation and failing to prevent what they termed ‘a massacre’. The government denied responsibility for the miners’ deaths and defended the police’s actions as being necessary to combat organised crime.

Sources: South African Police Service, eNews Channel Africa, British Broadcasting Corporation, Mail & Guardian, Al Jazeera, The Sowetan