Patriotic Alliance (PA) deputy president, Kenny Kunene, has sparked outrage after making highly controversial comments about undocumented foreign nationals who lost their lives while engaging in illegal mining in Stilfontein, North West. Kunene, known for his blunt and often divisive rhetoric, stated that his party has no sympathy for the deceased, labeling their actions as theft of South Africa’s mineral wealth.
“I have no sympathy for those who have died stealing the wealth of our country. They have committed a crime by entering this country illegally,” Kunene declared during a heated panel discussion on Newzroom Afrika. His comments quickly drew sharp criticism from various quarters, including political rivals and human rights advocates, as he linked the practice of illegal mining to broader criminal behavior that he claimed destabilized the nation.
Kunene’s condemnation of illegal mining was far from tempered. He escalated his remarks by associating illegal miners with gender-based violence, drawing on incidents of rapes allegedly committed by miners in places like the West Rand, Ekurhuleni, Johannesburg, and the Free State. “They are raping young women who were trying to make money with what God has given them as talent,” he added, referring to the miners as “criminals” with no place in the country. His inflammatory language did not stop there. “I have absolutely no sympathy. They must die like rats underground there, all of them. They must burn in hell,” he stated, a sentiment that was met with immediate backlash.
In the same breath, Kunene went as far as suggesting that both illegal miners and those purchasing illegally mined gold should be treated as traitors, accused of jeopardizing South Africa’s economy. “A sober country, with sober leadership, would treat this matter as treason,” he insisted, emphasizing his stance that those caught in illegal mining activities should face harsh penalties. According to Kunene, those arrested at the Stilfontein mine should be sentenced to 40 to 50 years in prison before being deported, as a deterrent to others. “Serious countries do not treat this matter as lightly as our government,” he added.
Kunene also lamented the economic cost of illegal mining, which he claimed siphons off resources that could otherwise be used for vital social services, such as pensions for the elderly and free education for South Africa’s youth. “Our pensioners are being paid peanuts, yet criminals are stealing the wealth of our country that could finance living pensions,” he argued, further entrenching his viewpoint that the illegal miners were not only criminals but thieves robbing the country of its future.
While Kunene’s comments were largely condemned by opposition groups, one of the loudest critiques came from the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF). Fanon Moema, the party’s spokesperson in North West, labelled Kunene’s remarks “irresponsible and careless.” Moema pointed out that crime, especially in illicit mining, is not confined to any one nationality, noting that South Africans are just as complicit. He highlighted a recent search-and-seizure operation by the South African Police Service, which revealed that local citizens were providing goods to illegal miners, further entangling South Africans in the illicit economy.
“Crime has no nationality, crime is crime,” Moema argued, stressing that illegal mining should be viewed through the lens of organized crime syndicates, not through a narrow nationalistic perspective. He also underscored the tragic reality that some of the individuals involved in these activities were trafficked into the country as minors, making it clear that the issue of illegal mining is far more complex than simply criminality based on nationality.
Meanwhile, reports from Stilfontein indicated that the ongoing rescue mission had saved numerous miners from the disused mine shaft, but it had also uncovered a grim scene. At least 78 bodies of illegal miners were retrieved from the site, with many parts of human remains still trapped deep within the mine. In total, 246 illegal miners had been arrested by the end of Wednesday, with authorities continuing their efforts to retrieve the bodies and bring the situation under control.
Kunene’s remarks have added fuel to an already heated debate over illegal mining in South Africa. His stance has divided opinion, with some seeing him as a defender of the country’s resources, while others accuse him of using inflammatory rhetoric that only deepens the nation’s divisions. As the debate rages on, the stark realities of the illegal mining crisis remain clear: a complex, dangerous, and deeply entrenched issue that no amount of political finger-pointing is likely to solve on its own.
