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ActionSA has learned with deep disappointment that the Business Rescue Practitioners of Lily Mine have refused to grant ActionSA President Herman Mashaba and Members of Parliament access to the mine premises.

This refusal is not only unfortunate but deeply insensitive to the plight of families who, for over nine years, have been camping at the foot of the mine in remembrance of their loved ones who remain entombed underground since the tragic collapse of a lamp room container on 5 February 2016.

The Lily Mine disaster claimed the lives of Pretty Nkambule, Yvonne Mnisi, and Solomon Nyarenda, who were trapped when the lamp room container they were working in was buried beneath the earth. To this day, their bodies remain unretrieved, a national shame that continues to haunt South Africa’s democratic promise of dignity for all.

Despite repeated promises from government, including Ministers and senior officials who vowed that the container would be retrieved, these families have been forced to endure neglect, broken promises, and now the indignity of being denied even the right to pray at the site where their loved ones rest.

For nearly a decade, these families have braved the elements, pitching their tents outside the mine, a visible reminder of South Africa’s broken promises. For nine long years, they have slept on cold ground while politicians have slept in comfort. For nine years, they have prayed, pleaded, and protested while their government has looked away.

This denial by the BRPs is a cruel reminder that those with power continue to put profit and process above people and pain. ActionSA stands firmly with the families of Lily Mine, and together, we will not be silenced.

We find the decision of the BRP to refuse us entry to the mine concerning, especially while turning a blind eye to illegal mining by Zama Zamas taking place on the same site.

ActionSA will never abandon the Lily Mine families. Their fight is our fight. Their pain is our pain. And until the day their loved ones are brought to rest, we will stand shoulder to shoulder with them.

Issued by ActionSA Member of Parliament Lerato Ngobeni