PHOLA — In a powerful display of community frustration and youth mobilisation, the Phola Youth Desk, together with the Environmental Justice Alliance, took to the gates of Seriti Mine on June 12, 2025, demanding recognition, accountability, and environmental justice. The protest, characterised by impassioned chants and placards, highlighted allegations of nepotism and neglect, with protestors accusing the mine of sidelining locals and putting their health at risk.
Given Mahlobo, Chairperson of the Phola Youth Desk, explained the origins of the protest, “Since 2019, when Seriti took over operations from South32, we’ve been engaging with their stakeholders, calling for them to acknowledge Phola Youth and prioritise those who were born and raised here.”
“We have the necessary qualifications, but they keep using experience as a reason to exclude us, while offering internships and learnerships to people from outside our community,” said Mahlobo.
Providing legal context and support, Felix Quibe from Right2Protest (R2P) stated, “We are a coalition of organisations committed to promoting and protecting the constitutional right to protest as enshrined in Section 17 of the Constitution. We offer legal assistance to demonstrators to ensure their actions are lawful.”
Quibe explained that the Regulation of Gatherings Act (205 of 1993) sets out the procedure to be followed when exercising protest rights, including the submission of a written notice containing the names of convenors, time, date, and route of the protest.
According to Quibe, the practice of insisting that protest organisers obtain written confirmation from the target of their protest, in this case, Seriti Mine to receive a memorandum, is not legally required under the Act.
The Phola Youth Desk and Environmental Justice Alliance complied with legal procedure by submitting their protest notice to the eMalahleni Local Municipality. A Section 4 meeting was convened on June 10, 2025 to finalise details. According to the organisers, despite adhering to all required protocols, they were informed that the protest could not proceed unless they obtained written confirmation from Seriti Mine. They considered this demand unjust and not in line with the law. Nevertheless, the organisers remained determined and proceeded with the protest to ensure their voices were heard.
