For over eight years, the families of Pretty Nkambule, Yvonne Mnisi, and Solomon Nyirenda have maintained a solemn vigil at the abandoned Lily Gold Mine, a heartbreaking testament to one of South Africa’s most unresolved mining tragedies. Their fight for justice and the recovery of their loved ones’ remains continues to face what political leader Herman Mashaba calls systemic obstruction and a “contempt of court orders” by authorities.
The trio was tragically trapped underground on February 5, 2016, when a crown pillar collapsed at the mine near Barberton, causing a container they were working in to plunge into a sinkhole. Despite initial rescue efforts, their bodies were never recovered. The mine was subsequently closed, leaving over a thousand people unemployed, and the retrieval operation was officially abandoned by management and government departments, a decision now under fierce scrutiny.
ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba, who has taken up the families’ cause in a personal capacity, addressed the media on the site, revealing shocking new allegations. He stated that an investigation he commissioned uncovered that mine management had received two expert reports two years before the collapse, warning of “reckless mining” practices.
“This was not an accident. It was an accident bound to happen,” Mashaba asserted. “They were warned… but for them, it was about profits. The safety of our people was not an issue.”
Mashaba detailed a years-long legal battle, costing over R4 million, to force the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy and mine management to provide evidence justifying the decision to halt the retrieval. He claimed the delivered documents contained “no scientific evidence” that the container was unrecoverable.
“The decision to stop retrieving that container was taken, I don’t know, maybe in a shebeen or in a bar,” Mashaba said, expressing his fury at the lack of official accountability.
A significant breakthrough came in October 2023 when the Barberton Magistrate’s Court, following a two-year public inquiry, ordered criminal prosecution against the mine owners, senior local police officials, and department members for negligence and covering up the matter. However, Mashaba alleges that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and other government bodies are refusing to act on the court order.
“There is a court order to that effect… and it appears to me as a nation we’ve abandoned these three families,” he stated.
Despite the hurdles, there is a glimmer of hope. Mashaba revealed that a recent technical report from mining experts, commissioned by his team, concluded that the container is “without any doubt… retrievable.” The proposed method involves building a new shaft to access the container, a project that would also require reopening the mine and restoring hundreds of jobs.
Mashaba has now called on President Cyril Ramaphosa and the current Government of National Unity (GNU) to intervene, emphasizing the dual benefit of providing closure for the families and employment for the impoverished community.
He also drew attention to the dire living conditions of the families who have camped at the mine for years, claiming they have faced intimidation, including an arson attack allegedly orchestrated by a convicted criminal to silence them.
“Their lives have turned another way. You can imagine living like this for 6 years… with something that our government should have attended to,” Mashaba said, his voice heavy with emotion. He warned all South Africans that if such injustice is allowed to stand, “it’s going to happen to you one day.”
As the sun sets over the silent mine, the container holding the remains of Nkambule, Mnisi, and Nyirenda remains entombed underground, a symbol of both a profound human loss and an enduring national struggle for corporate accountability and justice.
