Northam – Two employees of Northam Platinum’s Zondereinde Mine who were killed during clashes between rival union clashes were members of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), the company said on Thursday.
“First and foremost they were employees of Northam, with families, friends and colleagues. They were not defined by their union affiliation. However, according to our records, both men were members of the NUM,” the company said.
Mthetheleli Somaxhama, 45, was gunned down on Sunday in Northam. He was a stope machine operator at Zondereinde Mine where he had been employed for 13 years.
Thembinkosi Mhlabeni, 52, was stabbed to death on Monday morning when members of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) clashed with NUM members near the R510 road between Northam and Thabazimbi.
Mhlabeni was also a stope machine operator at Zondereinde Mine, where he had been employed for 12 years.
The company condemned the violence and called on both unions to exercise leadership following the sporadic outbreak of violence.
It is believed the violence was caused by a turf war between NUM and Amcu.
The NUM is a majority union with 80 percent of the workforce while Amcu has 6,7 percent at Northam Platinum.
Union leaders have accused each other of lying following the incident.
Amcu president Joseph Mathunjwa said the NUM attempted to undermine his efforts at exposing the continuous attack on Amcu members.
“History has taught us that NUM would go to any lengths to discredit our president, even to the point of throwing slanderous statements across social media, calling him a ‘pathological liar’.
“We find this absolutely infuriating and disgusting as NUM continues in choosing to misinform the media in hopes of covering the truth of the current conflicts to their betterment,” Mathunjwa said in a statement.
This was after the NUM called Mathunjwa a pathological liar after he had told SAFM on Wednesday morning, that NUM had held secret meetings with Northam Platinum management. Mathunjwa also accused NUM of having started the violence in cahoots with the police.
“This is a known pathological liar who is a darling of the media and they publish everything that he says without verifying,” NUM president Thamsanqa Matosa had said.
“The NUM can confirm that as a recognised and majority union at North Platinum, it had a meeting with the management and police on Monday and Tuesday to try to find a lasting solution after our member was brutally gunned downed last week Sunday.
“We are also empowered in terms of the Labour Relations Act to hold meetings with the management and they are not secret. Amcu is not a recognised union at Northam Platinum.”
He said since last year, five NUM members had been killed and the perpetrators had not yet been arrested.
“Some of the perpetrators are employees of Northam Platinum. The NUM as a recognised union had meetings with the police and the management to deal with the safety of its members who are being killed. NUM members are truly worried about their safety.”
Amcu said Mathunjwa remained the only leader to prove his loyalty to members and their emancipation, even during times of violent conflict.
“The violent events at Northam Platinum, primarily incited by the National Union of Mineworkers, are reminiscent of the events which occurred on August 16th 2012 leading up to the Marikana massacre,” Amcu said.
Thirty four mineworkers were killed in Marikana on August 16, 2012 when police opened fire on them. The miners had waged a violent wildcat strike demanding Lonmin Platinum pay them a minimum monthly salary of R12,500. Ten other people, including two Lonmin security guards and two policemen, were killed in violence a week earlier.
African News Agency