POLL | Do you support call to 'smoke out' illegal miners trapped underground?

Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni has sparked controversy with her call to “smoke out” more than 4,000 illegal miners trapped underground in Stilfontein, North West.

Briefing the media on Wednesday, Ntshavheni said it was “not the government’s job to retrieve criminals”.

“We're not sending help to criminals. We're going to smoke them out, they will come out. Criminals are not to be helped; criminals are to be prosecuted. We didn't send them there and they didn't go down there for the benefit of the country so we can't help them,” she said.

“Those who want to help them, they must go and take the food down there. They will come out and we'll arrest them.”

While these remarks were supported by several people including the PA's Gayton McKenzie and ActionSA's Herman Mashaba, concerns have been raised about the minister’s choice of words allegedly implying that lives could potentially be lost.

In recent weeks, more than 1,000 illegal miners have resurfaced in the North West after the police's Operation Vala Umgodi, an operation aimed at curbing illegal mining, where supplies of food and water to illegal miners underground are blocked.

Since its inception in December 2023, more than 13,000 suspects have been arrested in Gauteng, the Free State, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, the Northern Cape and the North West. The police have also seized R5m in cash and uncut diamonds worth R32m. However, thousands are still trapped underground without food and water.

While reports have emerged of several deaths, police could not confirm this.

The police have called on the illegal miners to resurface so they can get help or aid, including medical attention. “We appeal to the community to allow the police space to do their job. The SAPS will not allow criminality to thrive,” spokesperson Brig Sabata Mokgwabone said.

Police and other safety officials would remain in place until they all resurface and are arrested.

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