The Department of Health in North West has confirmed that all illegal miners who were rescued from an abandoned mine in Stilfontein and hospitalised are in a stable condition. Spokesperson Tshegofatso Mothibedi said all the 32 zama zamas are placed in their own ward with high police and security presence.

TIGHT SECURITY

Mothibedi said there will be no easy way out for the illegal miners because security measures have been intensified. "All our patients, whether it is illegal miners or any other ordinary patients, when they arrive in our facilities, we make sure that there is premium security. Both visitors and patients are secured. But what we have done in this instance, because this one is quite a unique case involving all sorts of allegations around violence, escapes, and all that, we have made sure that we isolate them," said Mothibedi. He added that in the ward where the zama zamas are kept, internal security is working with the police. "Remember that all of them are under heavy police guard, but to top it up, we ensure that we beef our own security in that facility, the Klerksdorp Hospital."

STABLE

According to Mothibedi, all the admitted illegal miners are all stable. "From our observations, the majority of them are suffering from dehydration, diarrhoea, and hypertension," he said. Police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said previously that after they are released from the hospital, the miners will be charged with illegal mining, trespassing, and contravening the immigration laws as most of them are from foreign countries. Meanwhile, the police are still searching for alleged illegal mining kingpin Neo 'Tiger' Tshoaeli, who escaped after resurfacing from the disused mine last week. It's alleged that he disappeared between shaft 11 and the police station with the suspicion that he was let go by a police official.