NUM ‘not involved’ in Amcu killings
THE NATIONAL Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has distanced itself from the killing of mineworkers as bodies continue to pile up in the platinum belt in the North West. It yesterday strongly condemned the killings that continued unabated in Rustenburg.
“It does not matter to what union or association they belong. What matters most is that these killings are leaving families without a source of income. We call on law enforcement agencies to arrest and prosecute these killers and, in fact, the masterminds behind these killings. No trade union can sustain itself through killing people and a reign of terror. This must stop and stop now,” the union president Piet Matosa said yesterday.
The NUM, which has been losing members ever since more than 40 people were killed in violent clashes that resulted from the Marikana massacre in mid-August 2012, had been complaining about the killings amid union rivalry, said Matosa. “When our members were killed we tried everything with law enforcement agencies.
Still outstanding “As we speak we have 19 cases that are still outstanding since mid-August 2012. We are saying the NUM will never and has never been involved in any killings.
“‘We have seen statements where the NUM has been accused of the killings. We want to state categorically that we are not involved. People must deal with their own internal matters. We know that there is a growing dissatisfaction in the way other unions are run. People must allow democracy in their unions,”Matosa said.
Last week NUM’s arch-rival, the Association of Mineworkers and Construction (Amcu), said that another of its leaders had been killed execution-style at a Lonmin owned mine.
Amcu said Mvelesi Biyela, a health and safety officer at Lonmin’s Wonderkop mine, had been shot in front of his wife and six-year-old daughter while they were on their way home. Amcu president Joseph Mathunjwa said Biyela’s killing had left the union chilled, shaken, but steadfast in its determination to defeat this outrage.
“Those that think their cowardice can defeat this mighty union built on the spirit of many that have paid the ultimate price, spilled their blood, left us with just their bones must think again. We will not be intimidated. We will not be cowered.”