In the wake of the government-led rescue operation that saved over 200 miners and retrieved 78 bodies from an illegal mine in Stilfontein, South Africa, ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba has slammed the intervention as an unfair prioritisation of resources.
Speaking to Newzroom Afrika, Mashaba conveyed his lack of sympathy towards the miners who died in the incident, referring to their actions as criminal.
“Personally, I have no sympathy whatsoever. I don’t have sympathy for criminality. These miners went in there voluntarily. In fact, some of them are coming into our country illegally.”
“Personally, I have no sympathy whatsoever. I don’t have sympathy for criminality,” he said.
Mashaba went further to call out the government for perceived double standards in its handling of such incidents. He referred to the case of three miners who tragically died in the Vantage Goldfields Lily mine in 2016, noting that their bodies have still not been recovered to date.
Mashaba claimed that the government was more inclined to protect criminals rather than law-abiding citizens.
“It’s very unfortunate and it’s something that some of us in politics would question. Are the constitution and human rights meant for criminality and not for law-abiding citizens?” he said.
