Families demand justice after informal miners burn to death during police raid

Andias Chimutsi is recovering at home with his pregnant wife and their 2-year-old son. He can barely walk due to pains on his head and body. But he is determined to get back to work so that he can support his family again.

By Kimberly Mutandiro

21 Oct 2024

Several miners died and scores more sustained severe burns during an Operation Vala Umgodi raid in August.

One of 50 informal miners who clashed with authorities at the Daggafontein Mine Dump near the Blesbokspruit river in Springs, Gauteng Province, on 26 August 2024, is still lying in hospital being treated for severe burn wounds.

During an Operation Vala Umgodi raid by the South African Police Service and other law enforcement agencies, a fire swept through reeds commonly used by the illegal miners as an escape route. The miners allege the fire was started by the police. The police deny this. At least seven people have reportedly died, and a dozen other “zama zamas” were badly injured.

Speaking to GroundUp from his hospital bed, Livison Mativenga said: “All I want now is to survive and for justice to be served… We did not deserve to be burnt alive.”

His older brother Wilson died in hospital a month ago from his injuries. Mativenga was unable to attend the funeral in Zimbabwe because of his skin grafting surgery.

He was with his brother, selecting rocks they believed contained gold, when the police, soldiers and metro police arrived. The brothers and their friend, Tinashe Masedze, fled to the river and hid in the long reeds. Suddenly the reeds were alight, and the flames quickly spread to where they were.

Mativenga managed to escape and was taken to the hospital with another miner, Happiness Marava. He later learnt that his brother, friend and Marava had all died.

He said the grief cut deep.

Lorraine Muzendami had been a miner with her husband for only six months when the raid took place. She had also hid in the reeds, and was burnt.

She was discharged from hospital earlier in October, but she was still bandaged up when we spoke to her. Muzendami said her hospital bill came to R43,000.

Hospital bill

Roderick Macaringue recently returned from Mozambique. He had gone to bury his brother, Earnest, who died in the hospital after the fire. They received a hospital bill of R30,000, which he and his surviving brother cannot pay.

The survivors and families who lost loved ones accuse the police of failing to adequately investigate the incident. They believe those responsible for setting the fire are being protected by the authorities.

Tinashe Masedze’s wife, Caroline Xolani Mkhwanazi, said her husband’s body was burnt beyond recognition. She was now living with friends. Life had become harder with her husband’s death. He would sell his gold on a weekly basis and made enough that they could eat, she said.

She added that she wanted the police and soldiers to pay for what happened to her husband, and she wanted to be compensated for his death.

Lucas Macaringue (left) and Roderick Macaringue believe they should be allowed to claim damages from the state for their brother’s death. (Photo: Kimberly Mutandiro)

Andias Chimutsi is recovering at home with his pregnant wife and their 2-year-old son. He can barely walk due to pain from his burns. But he is determined to get back to work so that he can support his family again. (Photo: Kimberly Mutandiro)

In a statement after the incident, police spokesperson Brenda Muridili said an inquest docket had been opened. The statement said only one person had died and eight had been taken to hospital. But the families and survivors dispute these numbers and believe they were deliberately understated. They say some miners are still missing and their bodies could be in the river.

Kudzai Chikwature, a Zimbabwean community representative in Daggafontein, said 21 miners were admitted to hospital after the raid.

Many of the families say they were stopped from opening individual cases. When we asked the police about this, Gauteng SAPS spokesperson Captain Mavela Masondo said individual cases could not be opened because an inquest docket was still open. He did not explain how this prevented other cases from being opened.

The police said that the Independent Police Investigative Directorate had been informed of allegations that members of Operation Vala Umgodi were responsible for the fire, and that the directorate would be looking into the matter.

Docket still with the police

However, Ipid spokesperson Lizzy Suping told GroundUp that the directorate was not yet investigating the case because the docket was still with police.

Masondo had said family members who had not managed to report their relative’s deaths should contact the police.

But the families are reluctant.

“We fear that the police are trying to protect the perpetrators because they are law enforcement agents,” said Chikwature. “Some of the victims, who are miners, have gone back to work even though they are in pain. They are now afraid to pursue the case because most of them are undocumented. This might mean the perpetrators will walk free.”

Chairperson of the African Diaspora Global Network, Dr Vusumuzi Sibanda, believes the case is being covered up.

“We are on the verge of launching a lawsuit. We are aware of the fact that the matter is being sidelined. Everyone is working on sweeping the matter under the carpet, yet it’s one of the most gross human rights violations that we’ve seen,” he said. DM

First published by GroundUp.

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Hospital bill

Docket still with the police