Bulelwa Hoala

The Lawyers for Human Rights has confirmed that reports of illegal miners eating human flesh underground shaft 11 are indeed true.
This comes after South African National Civics Organisation (SANCO) North West Spokesperson, Mzukisi Jam, confirmed to the media on Wednesday that a letter emerged from underground on Christmas Eve claiming that more miners have died and that the surviving miners have resorted to eating dead bodies to avoid dying of starvation.
The illegal miners in Stilfontein claim they’re resorting to eating human flesh as bodies pile up underground. They also say a lot of people are now unaccounted for, esp those last seen trying to exit at shaft 10. “They keep falling and we can’t find the bodies.”@khanya_mntambo pic.twitter.com/KtlrKOKSGF
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) December 25, 2024
According to reports, 26 zama zamas were arrested in Stilfontein between Monday and Thursday this week after emerging from abandoned mineshafts. They are scheduled to appear in the Stilfontein Magistrate’s Court today.
A total of over 1500 zama zamas have been arrested in the North West so far with many resurfacing due to dehydration and starvation. While some have refused to resurface, it is uncertain how many miners remain underground. However, numerous corpses have been retrieved from the shafts.
This follows the establishment of the controversial Operation Vala Umgodi by the South African Police Services (SAPS) to shut down illegal mining in the North West by cutting off food, water and medical supplies.
SAPS spokesperson in the North West, Colonel Adele Myburgh, told Newzroom Afrika that the resurfaced miners were detained in police cells across before being transferred to correctional facilities.
“The district commissioner has had their hands full arranging detention spaces before court appearances. After their initial appearances, most have been transferred to the Department of Correctional Services,” said Myburgh.
Read next: 27 teens who resurfaced from the Stilfontein unused mines to be repatriated



