WELKOM — An illegal miner who has been underground at Eland Shaft in Welkom since January has dictated a letter asking Prime Minister Pakalitha Mosisili (pictured) to intervene and secure his freedom.
The open letter was dictated to a Lesotho Times reporter this week. In it, Nthona Sekese appealed to the government of Lesotho for help.
The Welkom mine disaster has claimed 46 Basotho lives. About 100 illegal miners who are still working underground have refused to come out fearing that they will be arrested.
We reproduce the letter, translated from Sesotho, below:
Dear Ntate Mosisili,
My name is Nthona Sekese. I am 52 years old and have four children.
I come from Beresi, a village in Thaba-Tseka that lost six men in the illegal mining disaster in Welkom.
I am writing this letter to you as the prime minister in particular and the Lesotho government in general.
I am currently underground in Eland Mine shaft where many people have perished.
I am on the other part of the shaft called Geduld.
It’s sad.
I have been in this business for eight years but in that period I have never seen so many dead bodies.
I have seen many bodies of Basotho men who died in the disaster.
I have been here since January this year.
It’s scary.
I am writing this letter to appeal for help from the government of Lesotho.
Since the disaster struck it has been left for those of us who are still alive to help bring the dead bodies of our colleagues to the surface.
There has been no rescue mission and we are not sure that there will be any soon.
In the meantime we have more people that are still trapped.
More are dying every day.
Together with other men we have tried to help them but the power of our shovels and picks is limited.
I know that most of those who have died or are still trapped are Basotho. They need your help.
More hands can make a tough job easier. We hope this letter will persuade the Lesotho government to do something.
This calamity could have happened to anybody, even those miners who have been legally employed.
It is only unfortunate that this disaster has happened to us, the people who have been branded as illegal miners.
I wish people could stop dwelling on our mistakes and focus on the problem at hand.
We are not criminals.
We had come here to earn a living from a field which the owners had declared as non-productive.
Some have told us that we will be arrested if we come out.
Our being labelled criminals does not mean that we are no longer citizens of Lesotho.
It does not mean that the government should not help the bereaved families transport and bury
their dead.
As a result of this accident there are now orphans and widows that will still need the government’s help now and in the future.
I believe that it is the responsibility of the government to ensure that those that are still trapped come out alive.
Money from this business, no matter what people may say about it, has helped many families in Lesotho.
I have been able to send my children to school.
Some of my colleagues here have started small businesses in the hope that one day they will stop this dangerous business.I want to stay home (in Lesotho) but there are no jobs.
Opportunities are very scarce. Those who condemn us have never felt what it is like to go to bed on an empty stomach.They don’t know the pain of watching your children go for days without food.
My appeal now is that the government helps in the burial of the dead and provide for their families.The other request is that the government organises a mission to bring out the dead and rescue those that might still be alive.
My biggest fear is that we will be arrested as soon as we come out.This zama-zama business is very complicated and wide.
We are only the small fish.I fear that if I am arrested I will be forced to name the big men who might eventually harm my family in retaliation.
I pray that you will find time to read this because I speak for many Basotho men who are still here.
Yours sincerely
Nthona Sekese
