Mining Affected Communities United in Action (Macua), which has been lobbying for the illegal miners in Stilfontein, North West, has called for an independent investigation or an inquiry into what it calls a "deliberate starvation" of the zama zamas.
Macua and 50 other civil rights organisations want the government to be investigated for its role in "enabling syndicate operations while criminalising poor miners".
The organisation briefed the media on Thursday, with spokesperson Magnificent Mndebele saying it had appointed an independent pathologist to conduct autopsies on the 89 deceased miners.
"The pathologist has personally completed 20 autopsies, and all show clear evidence that starvation and dehydration were the primary causes of death," Mndebele said.
"The findings confirm that the miners further died from severe immune system suppression, tuberculosis, pneumonia and bowel infections. All deaths were directly linked to starvation and dehydration."
He said an independent pathologist was still reviewing additional autopsies, but so far, starvation remained the consistent cause across all cases.
Mantashe’s claim that humanitarian organisations should not have intervened because the miners 'voluntarily' entered dangerous conditions is not only morally bankrupt, but also an open endorsement of mass murder
— Magnificent Mndebele, Macua spokesperson
"These were not natural deaths – they were entirely preventable. The government deliberately refused to intervene, knowingly allowing these men to die in slow agony," Mndebele said.
More than 200 illegal miners were rescued by the mining rescue operation in January, while 78 bodies were brought up to the surface. The number of bodies brought to the surface since August last year is 87, while two miners died in hospital.
"This was not simply a case of miners entering a dangerous situation; the greatest and most lethal danger came from the state itself. Officials not only refused to provide food but actively sabotaged the only available source of sustenance by blocking and damaging supplies from community rescue teams. They knew shaft 11's trapped miners had no other viable means of escape or survival and they still chose to let them perish."
The organisation also said it rejected statements by the minister of mineral and petroleum resources Gwede Mantashe, which they said attempt to justify the zama zamas' inhumane treatment.
"Mantashe’s claim that humanitarian organisations should not have intervened because the miners 'voluntarily' entered dangerous conditions is not only morally bankrupt, but also an open endorsement of mass murder. His statement reflects a deeply fascist [view]."
Among some of its demands, the organisation said it wanted Mantashe's immediate resignation for his alleged role in this humanitarian catastrophe.
"Criminal charges, including murder and crimes against humanity, against Mantashe and all government officials responsible for the deaths in Stilfontein."
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