8-years later Lily Mine workers remains still not retrieved

By: Natasha Archary

Eight years later the remains of three Lily Mine workers have still not been retrieved.

Pretty Nkambule, Yvonne Mnisi, and Solomon Nyarende’s bodies remain trapped underground after a container they were working on collapsed.

To this day, there have been no efforts to retrieve the container with the miner’s remains.

In October 2023, the ConCourt rejected Vantage Goldfield’s leave to appeal the ruling which will ultimately result in the recommencing of operations at the Lily Mine in Barberton, Mpumalanga.

The Court found that the Lily Mine tragedy was due to the failure of Government to address illegal mining.

On Monday, 05 February, on what is the 8th anniversary of the Lily Mine tragedy, ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba will host a two-day memorial service near the mine for the families of the trapped miners who are longing to bury their loved ones.

“What makes me angry is that our government has been complicit in lying to the families and the people of South Africa, and the world, that the contained cannot be retrieved.

You know how much legal fees it really cost us to get them to admit that the container can be retrieved?

I’m sure the families are aware how much we spent and how much time we had to spend to get the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) to admit that.

When I met with the family and I said the numbers don’t add up, I asked what informed government, management, that this container cannot be retrieved?

Because if you are making such a statement, we’ve got 3 bodies underground, we know that the container fell, they admit the container fell, but they say they container cannot be retrieved.

I think for anyone to make that determination, you have to have scientific evidence.”
Herman Mashaba on the Lily Mine workers whose remains have still not been retrieved

Our uncaring government continues to ignore the Lily Mine families’ repeated pleas for help to retrieve the remains of their loved ones and find much-needed closure.

This remains an injustice to the miners and their families.

As a party that values Social Justice, we have… pic.twitter.com/qnAANM49vK

— ActionSA (@Action4SA) February 5, 2024

Mashaba says his party will not stop fighting for justice for the families of the Lily Mine victims, and shares that the families have empowered ActionSA to pursue legal action on their behalf to hold those responsible for the February 2016 tragedy accountable.

With the power of attorney granted to ActionSA by the families, Mashaba says the party will:

Ensure that the amended Business Rescue Plan, which stipulates that mining operation at Lily Mine resume, is voted on.
Call on the NPA to initiate criminal charges against those found liable for the tragedy. If not, the party will seek to launch its own private prosecution.
Launch civil action to ensure that the families of the three miners are fairly compensated for the impact the tragedy has had on them for more than 7-years.

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