NUM condemns publicity seeking and violence inciting postures by Mathunjwa

NUM Press Statement, 04 August 2014

NUM condemns publicity seeking and violence inciting postures by Mathunjwa

The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has noted the dirty, bizarre, and desperate allegations made by AMCU President Joseph Mathunjwa during a press conference today about NUM and its alleged links to ‘hit squad’ relating to ‘killing its members in the platinum belt.' It is important to indicate that Mr Mathunjwa or any leaders should forward information on hit-squads to the law enforcement agencies. We also formally challenge Mr Mathunjwa to give the information on “This clandestine resolution … to fight AMCU” to the police and stop public posturing.

We have made the call that anybody with information about those who are killing our members and other mineworkers as NUM should forward such information to the police or legitimate law enforcement agencies. It is deplorable that a leader of the union has been sitting on the knowledge of the existence of ‘hit-squads’ for such a long time without giving it to police.

NUM issued a press statement recently post its NEC in July 2014 in which amongst other things it condemned the killing of the AMCU leader Bongani ‘Bhayi’ Mehlonkomo.NUM in the same spirit also condemned the killing of Samancor Human Resource Officer in that same week. 

NUM in its peace efforts is participating in the Mine Crime Combating Forums such as in Limpopo, Rusternburg, and the Free State to mention a few. NUM is a peaceful organisation that is why it is a signatory to the Framework Agreement for Peace and Stability signed under the leadership of the former Deputy President of the Republic Kgalema Motlanthe.We are aware that those who do not support peace and stability have not signed this agreement to this day. 

We condemned all these killings despite the fact that both people killed did not belong to the NUM and only one of them belonged to Mr Mathunjwa`s union. In that statement, there is nowhere an inference is made to fight AMCU and this union leader simply cannot resist lying.By these concocted lies, AMCU President seeks to incite violence.

Now that the Platinum sector has settled on wages Mr Mathunjwa no longer enjoys the media limelight and he will stop at nothing to recapture the public and media attention through irresponsible innuendos .The AMCU leader must retract his irresponsible postures because they have the potential to incite violence.

We call on all workers to unite and all unions to participate in structures and processes geared towards peace amongst workers and their unions .No pathological lies must compromise the building of worker unity in the mining industry and platinum belt specifically.

For more information, please contact:

Livhuwani Mammburu: 083 809 3257 (Acting NUM National Spokesperson)

The National Union of Mineworkers
7 Rissik Street.
Cnr Frederick Johannesburg
Tel: 011 377 2111 Cell: 083 809 3257
Twitter: @Num_Media

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/NUM/100860023402167