Mine dust stole a young man’s mobility in Meloding

Nthabiseng Mahlumba

For Mohlolo Mphulenyane, a resident of Meloding, the simple act of breathing has cost him his future. He was neither injured in an accident nor born with a disability. The dust is everywhere, and you can’t escape it ,Mohlolo recalls, describing how the white dust from the surrounding mine tailings constantly settles over his home. Now, just walking across the room feels like climbing a mountain. Born perfectly healthy, Mohlolo should be walking, working, and building his independence.

Instead, he now suffers from mining-related tuberculosis (TB). The disease has ravaged his lungs and body to the point where every step requires physical support. The freedom he once took for granted has been stolen from him, not by personal choices, but by an environment heavily polluted by nearby mining operations.
To ensure that Mohlolo receives proper justice, there is an urgent need for direct financial and medical intervention. Mining companies must be held fully responsible for the environmental health disasters they inflict on innocent residents.

The solution requires strict legal and financial accountability. We need binding laws that compel companies to compensate victims like Mohlolo, cover their lifelong medical expenses, and actively remediate the land they have damaged. Voluntary corporate social responsibility commitments are ineffective when human
lives are on the line. The evidence supports this call for action. During a recent youth data collection project in Meloding, we thoroughly documented local demographics, employment, and disability status. For every disability recorded, we investigated whether it was congenital or environmental. The pattern we uncovered is undeniable: healthy individuals are becoming disabled because of their living conditions.

This connection is not merely an observation; it is documented in black and white. Mohlolo’s official medical records from the OR Tambo Clinic explicitly confirm his diagnosis of Multi-Drug Resistant Tuberculosis (MDR-TB). Healthcare workers at the clinic first identified his illness when he was a vibrant 20-year-old. His medical records link his severe physical deterioration directly to prolonged exposure to toxic particulate matter from the nearby mine dumps.
Living with this diagnosis has completely transformed Mohlolo’s life.

He has spent the last 18years battling this devastating illness, and now, at 38 years old, the long-term effects of MDR-TB have severely compromised his body. Due to his impaired mobility and permanently damaged lungs, he is completely excluded from the workforce and cannot seek employment to support himself. His days are now spent confined to his home, reliant on crutches to navigate even the smallest distances. The physical pain is constant, but the total loss of his
independence and the frustration of spending his prime working years trapped in a body destroyed by environmental pollution is the heaviest burden he carries.