North West Health Department Awaits Burial Papers for 23 Unidentified Illegal Miners

• 23 Bodies from the abandoned mine shafts in Stilfontein are still awaiting burial due to paperwork from the Department of Home Affairs
• The North West Department of Health has positively identified 25 individuals through DNA matching
• The majority of the identified individuals were foreign nationals from Zimbabwe, Lesotho, and Mozambique

The North West Department of Health has confirmed that 23 unidentified bodies, recovered from abandoned mine shafts in Stilfontein, are still awaiting burial as officials wait for death certificates and related documentation from the Department of Home Affairs.

Mass burials to be conducted

According to department spokesperson Tshegofatso Mothibedi, the necessary paperwork is expected to be completed within the next few weeks. The department plans to carry out mass burials by the end of June once the documentation is received.

The 23 bodies are part of the 78 corpses discovered earlier this year linked to illegal mining activities in the area. The department has so far positively identified 25 of the deceased through DNA matching.

The bodies were handed over to their families, who came forward to claim them. Most of the identified individuals were foreign nationals from Zimbabwe, Lesotho, and Mozambique.

30 Unidentified bodies buried

Earlier this week, 30 unidentified bodies were buried in Kanana and Stilfontein after identification efforts had been exhausted. The burials were conducted under legal provisions that allow for the state to bury unidentified individuals after a reasonable period of investigation.

Mothibedi indicated that the department had waited over four months for community members to come forward with information. During that time, DNA samples were collected and stored for potential future claims. The department has emphasised that the process was conducted transparently and within legal bounds.

Mothibedi explained that the burial of unidentified persons typically does not involve public ceremonies or announcements. He said such burials are routine and carried out quietly by authorities.

The department has urged anyone with missing relatives to contact health officials or local authorities. DNA profiles of the unidentified individuals remain on record and can be used if families seek to claim a body in the future.

What you need to know about the illegal miners

• More than 140 illegal miners resurfaced from the Magaret Shaft in Stilfontein in Potchefstroom, and most of them were illegal foreign nationals.
• 401 Gold Mine mineworkers have been shown the door after they went on an illegal strike.
• Operation Vala Umgodi in the Northern Cape led to the arrest of 35 suspects over the weekend for illegal mining and immigration violations.
• A 21-year-old Lesotho national was arrested for allegedly possessing uncut diamonds during a vehicle checkpoint inspection in Kleinsee on 18 June.
• 225 illegal miners were forced to resurface from underground due to starvation and dehydration
• Defiant illegal miners have reopened the mining shafts closed by police officers in the Riverlea, Johannesburg

Clash between illegal miners results in 5 dead

In another story, Briefly News reported that a gunfight between rival illegal mining gangs in Riverlea has resulted in the death of five people.

Gauteng police claim that the fight was a result of a clash over territory between the gangs. Police officers are monitoring the area.

Source: Briefly News