Wednesday marked nine years since the tragic entrapment of three miners, Pretty Nkambule, Yvonne Mnisi, and Solomon Nyirenda, at the Lily Mine in Barberton, Mpumalanga, on February 5, 2016.
To mark the occasion, the families of the victims gathered at the site of the tragedy, where their grief was compounded by the ongoing disappointment stemming from the apparent lack of political will to bring about a resolution to their plight.
Their attempts to pay tribute to the entrapped loved ones were almost thwarted after on their arrival, rocks and stones were used to barricade the road leading to the site of bereavement.
The Lily Mine tragedy struck South Africa in February 2016 when a section of the mine collapsed, sealing the container office where the three miners were working, about 70m below the surface.
Initial attempts to reach the victims were halted due to safety concerns, leaving the families in limbo since that fateful day.
At this year’s gathering, community leader and spokesperson for the victims, Harry Mazibuko, voiced the collective frustration that has plagued the families and the entire community over the years.
“As usual and as always, on this day, we gather together with the families to remember Yvonne Mnisi, Solomon Nyirenda, and Pretty Nkambule who remain trapped at the mine since 2016. It is a shock and it is questionable to us why people would block the road.
“We find it very disturbing that the roads were blocked so that we are unable to remember the victims of this tragedy,” Mazibuko said.
Despite a court judgment by the Nelspruit Magistrate’s Court, which in October 2023 found that the deaths of three Lily Mine employees were a result of failure by the mine management to conduct proper risk assessments, attempts to get the miners retrieved from underground have not materialised.
Speaking during his address, ActionSA leader, Herman Mashaba, reiterated his stance that the government does not care about the victims of the tragedy, who have remained underground to this day.
“Those we feel that Yvonne, Pretty, and Solomon are not important. I am telling you, they are important to me. I have never met them in my life, but their families have now become part of my family,” he stated.
Other leaders who joined in on this year’s solemn event included MK Party leaders, including former public protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane, Executive Director of the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation Neeshan Balton, as well as traditional leaders, and civil society leaders.