The Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Sunday heard an urgent application concerning the life-threatening conditions faced by artisanal miners trapped underground at the Buffelsfontein Gold Mine.
The application was brought forth by Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) on behalf of Mining Affected Communities United in Action (MACUA) in response to the state's controversial sealing of mine entrances during “Operation Vala Umgodi.”
At precisely 2:45pm on Sunday, 1 December 2024, the court ruled in favour of immediate interim relief, requiring the respondents—including the Minister of Police and the MEC for Community Safety and Transport Management (North West)—to allow community members and charitable organisations to deliver vital food, water, and medication to the miners within two hours of the order being issued. The court stressed the urgency of facilitating this aid without delay, highlighting the critical humanitarian need of those trapped below ground.
LHR welcomed the court's interim order, asserting the fundamental importance of the miners' right to life and their right to live with dignity. The ruling underscored that the South African state cannot employ starvation and dehydration as enforcement tactics, as these actions could equate to crimes against humanity. According to LHR, such measures stand in stark contradiction to the rights to life and human dignity enshrined in the Constitution, which prohibit inhumane or degrading treatment in any context.
LHR and MACUA maintain that the South African Police Service (SAPS) must act within constitutional parameters and uphold their obligations to protect and fulfil the rights of all individuals, particularly those from vulnerable communities.
The parties are set to return to the Pretoria High Court on Thursday, 5 December 2024, to pursue additional relief. This upcoming session will explore requests for an extended order allowing ongoing rescue efforts and to declare the SAPS's alleged tactics of using starvation and dehydration unconstitutional.
