PRETORIA – ActionSA is intensifying pressure on the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to uphold the court judgment to prosecute individuals accountable for the Lily Mine tragedy in February 2016.
Party president Herman Mashaba and Mpumalanga leader Thokozile Mashiane led a picket march to the NPA headquarters in Pretoria on Monday, 22 April 2024.
The party accuses the prosecuting authority of disregarding the order issued by the Mbombela Magistrates Court in October last year to prosecute those liable for the mine disaster.
Last October, the court ruled that the NPA should consider criminal prosecution against individuals, including the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy, responsible for the collapse that resulted in the deaths of Solomon Nyirenda, Pretty Nkambule, and Yvonne Mnisi.
This follows the court’s finding that proper risk assessments were not conducted before the collapse.
“We are here today to say to the NPA, enough is enough, we want justice for Pretty, Solomon and Yvonne,” Herman Mashaba said during the march. “We want the prosecuting authority to prioritize the retrieval of the bodies.” He added that they seek prosecution of the police, government, and mining company implicated in the mine’s collapse, emphasizing justice for the affected families.
“We want closure for the families. We want the families to bury their loved ones and move on with their lives.”
The party further stated that they have repeatedly engaged with the NPA regarding a decision on criminal prosecutions.
“Despite being promised in December that a decision would be made in January, the NPA has yet to make any decision about possible criminal prosecutions,” Mashaba noted. in January, the NPA has yet to make any decision about possible criminal prosecutions,” Mashaba said. “Instead, the NPA gives excuse after excuse as to why a decision on possible prosecutions has not taken place while the families of Solomon Nyirenda, Pretty Nkambule and Yvonne Mnisi, who were engulfed in a sinkhole at the mine, more than 8 years ago, await closure and justice for the tragedy.”
He also highlighted that despite the NPA’s commitment to decide on prosecutions by January, no such decision has been made.
