Nelspruit Magistrate’s Court postpones Lily Mine collapse inquest
On February 5, 2016, Yvonne Mnisi, Solomon Nyerende and Pretty Nkambule were in an office container when the mine beneath it collapsed and they were trapped inside. Their bodies have not been recovered since.
The Lily Mine inquest was postponed to Monday November 8. The matter has been ongoing in the Nelspruit Magistrate’s Court since Tuesday November 2 and is expected to end on November 12.
The first witness on Friday November 5 was Dean Ackerman, who had been a junior blaster when the incident occurred. He shared his working conditions, experiences and challenges.
According to him, at some point he was told to do things he did not want to do while on duty. “When raising my concerns, I was told that if I did not want to work, I must just pack my bags and leave. The mine captain was aware of the activities. I got instructions and did not ask questions. I did what I was told to do. “As we were digging under the crown pillar, it got smaller. The crown pillar was 18 metres thick,” he said.
When Ackerman was asked if he thought the collapse could be attributed to illegal mining, he said, “It was hard for someone from the outside to go inside. This is because there were people working from Monday to Sunday. When a shift ends, another starts. There were always people going up and down.”
As he was testifying, he used a pen and piece of paper to explain the structures and demonstrate the conditions of the pillars in the mine. He also used plans that were displayed on the court wall.
The second witness, Barend Johannes Koorzen, a former employee of Lily Mine, said the workers were not forced to work, and that if he had forced them, they could have followed the processes to raise their concerns and he could have lost his job. “There are layers to follow if workers are not happy. The mine protects its employees. The workers could complain to human resources if they had problems.”
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A third witness was also called in and he was the last person to testify on Friday.
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The provincial NPA spokesperson, Monica Nyuswa, said, “The matter was postponed to next week for further evidence.”
