in South Africa, a standoff pits police against illegal miners around a mine believed to contain gold

In South Africa, police and illegal miners are playing a game of cat and mouse. Hundreds of miners have occupied an abandoned mine in Stillfontein for several months. This disused mine is said to house gold in particular, in this former mining town two hours from Johannesburg. To dislodge them, since the beginning of the week of November 11, the police have surrounded the entrance and ordered its occupants to come back up. Recently, a lifeless body was brought up. Residents no longer have the right to supply them. These minors have no water or food, and risk arrest if they resurface.

Every morning, Jennifer takes the path to the mine. She is 25 years old and her husband is still in the underground galleries: “I’m so scared, I’m terrified! But anyway, why are the police blocking this mine with people underneath?! They have no food, no water, they are weak. There are even deaths! “ This mine has been closed for years, but deep down there are remains of gold. This is why many men rush into it.

These miners are nicknamed “Zama Zamas” – try your luck in Zulu. “The children from our village are down there because there is no work in South Africa, continues Jennifer. We don’t want them to be arrested. It is the government which is responsible for this situation: we cannot find work, so what do we do? Well, these young people come here simply to live.”

However, the government has decided to wage war on these illegal mines. For several days, a yellow and blue security cordon has surrounded the entrance. Many police officers wait until the men decide to come out to arrest them: “My husband went out today, he was taken to the police station, testifies a woman. I saw it, the car drove right there. I couldn’t even talk to him. I just gave his ID card which I was asked for. But I don’t know why they arrested him, what did he do wrong?”

For these residents who camp here all day at the foot of the trees in support of the miners, this mine is their only source of income. For the police, they are also and above all coveted by gangs. A few kilometers away, at the city police station, General Tebello Mosikili, director of the South African police, speaks with her troops: “Guns, heavily armed criminals, that’s what we have here. That’s why the army supports us, to be able to respond to violence if necessary.” The Minister of Police also came to Stilfontein. He assured that the operation would continue until all the miners resurfaced.

A court in Pretoria on Saturday ordered an end to the police blockade to bring in and arrest up to several thousand illegal miners. More than 1,100 illegal miners were arrested this month at the exit of this old mine, according to AFP.