REPORT FROM THE UFS OVER THE JAGERSFONTEIN DISASTER

Menge Agnes Choledi

We were very hopeful and sure that our story will be brought to the attention of the world and those who occupy the seats of power. 

We’re still awaiting justice to be served on those who lost all their belongings on that fateful day. Others lost their lives and their properties, while others were given a blank cheque to run away with everything. What we have left is only disaster etched in our memories, we were not even consulted when the research was conducted about us without us. Only a small portion of the community was consulted but not everyone. Another way of dividing us as a community, some information is deliberately being withheld from us. 

The findings that are contained in that report are baseless and void of the truth and accuracy. Firstly they claim that there are no chemicals and toxins in the water and the sludge from the mine. The independent research by our attorney found eight different kinds of toxins in the sludge, their report cannot even be published like what the Bench Marks Foundation did. They refuse to speak to our attorney even after numerous attempts to seek an audience with them. Our pleas fell on deaf ears.

Our suspicion is that the mine is collaborating with the government to cover up the truth, the mine is breaking the law and the government is enabling the mine to commit that heinous crime. They are now using the university to conceal the truth. We are a very poor community with a high level of illiteracy and that makes people take advantage of our predicament. 

We are very disappointed by the people who are leading us because we feel that they are not on the side of the community. Our town and municipality are controlled by unknown people from somewhere who have no regard for our rights as a community. 

What we want as the community of Itumeleng is justice and those responsible must face the wrath of the law. How can we have confidence in the institutions that are supposed to protect us when the people who are in leadership positions abuse their power and suppress us? They are now not even ashamed to use the university to lie and conceal the truth