One more miner killed as body count rises in Marikana
Seven people have died since July
Yet another‚ unnamed miner was killed in Marikana on Tuesday‚ bringing the number of murdered workers to seven since July.
“The Chamber of Mines is extremely concerned about the incidents of violence in various mining communities‚” Chamber of Mines spokeswoman Charmane Russell said.
“In recent weeks‚ we have seen the appalling killings‚ many in assassination-style where the victims are shot and killed.
“The Chamber considers it urgent that intensive investigations‚ including broader intelligence gathering‚ be carried out‚” Russell said.
She said the Chamber held meetings with police structures discussing mining issues, including the killings.
“The Chamber offers its deepest condolences to the loved ones‚ friends and colleagues of the victims‚ and hopes that the perpetrators of these murders will be apprehended soon and face the full force of the law.”
Harmony Gold’s regional manager Simphiwe Kubheka was shot dead in his car last month.
A few days before Kubheka’s murder‚ an office bearer of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu)‚ Mvelisi Biyela‚ was shot dead outside his home in the mining village of Wonderkop in the North West platinum belt. Biyela‚ who was the Amcu’s health and safety office bearer at Lonmin‚ was gunned down in front of his wife and six-yearold daughter.