Across three days of testimony, police, government officials, and mining representatives acknowledged failures in responses to the Stilfontein mining tragedy, while repeatedly disputing responsibility for the events that led to the deaths of more than 90 people.
by Reitumetse Pilane
4 February 2026
Buffelsfontein mine manager Riaan van der Berg told the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) inquiry that the crisis at Stilfontein was “not a mine problem, but a social problem”, a sentiment echoed throughout three days of testimony marked by contradictory explanations and a lack of accountability.
The inquiry forms part of the second leg of the SAHRC’s National Inquiry into the policy framework governing artisanal mining, the impact of such mining on surrounding communities, and the scope and tactics employed during Operation Vala Umgodi. Hearings took place from 2 to 4 February 2026, following the deaths of 93 people at an illegal mining site in Stilfontein in the North West.
On the first day of proceedings, representatives from the South African Police Service (SAPS) rejected allegations that police actions contributed to the deaths of miners trapped underground. SAPS denied claims of torture and disputed suggestions that starvation was used as a tactic to force miners to surface.
However, during questioning, the inquiry’s evidence leaders challenged the police version of events, drawing attention to discrepancies between SAPS’s testimony and earlier court proceedings. Reference was made to a court intervention that prevented police from obstructing humanitarian assistance to miners underground.
On the second day, Minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources Gwede Mantashe emphasised what he described as the “voluntary assumption of risk” undertaken by miners, repeatedly framing the incident as a criminal matter rather than a human rights issue. When questioned about the rights of children allegedly coerced into mining activities, Mantashe maintained that criminal conduct fell outside the department’s human rights mandate.
Van der Berg’s testimony on the final day added a further layer to the inquiry’s emerging pattern of deflection. He told the commission that, despite visiting the shaft on “numerous” occasions during rescue operations, he never witnessed food being sent underground. While SAPS has maintained that starvation was not employed as a tactic, survivors have described spending extended periods underground with little or no access to food.
When pressed on whether police actions were lawful, Van der Berg declined to offer an opinion, stating instead that the priority during the operation was “not food, but getting people out”.
Across the three days of hearings, the different testimonies have repeatedly framed the Stilfontein catastrophe as a security, criminal, economic or social issue, often placing it beyond the direct responsibility of the speaker’s institution.