Jagersfontein: We Demand Access to Justice—The Report and the Right to Attend Court

MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 14 November 2025

1. Cabinet Briefing and the Withheld Report

At a recent Cabinet meeting (15 October), ministers were briefed on the technical investigation into the Jagersfontein Tailings Storage Facility failure and received a report on the case. It was announced that the Minister of Water and Sanitation, Ms. Pemmy Majodina, would release this report to the public.

While this commitment is welcome, we are deeply concerned that almost a month after the meeting, the report remains unreleased. The CSOs Tailings Working Group fears that this delay will only foster pessimism and erode public trust in the justice system.

2. Barrier to Justice: Moving the Court Case

In a related matter, the CSOs Tailings Working Group, after consulting with its affiliate the Jagersfontein Lerumo Justice Forum, is alarmed that moving the criminal case from Jagersfontein to the Free State capital, Bloemfontein, will not serve the interests of the poor, impacted, and affected communities.

We are concerned that the basic principles of procedural and substantive justice are being compromised because people are too poor to travel to Bloemfontein. The Bill of Rights is clear: everyone has the right to a fair public hearing before a court.

“If the Department of Justice does not step in to assist, this will be a miscarriage of justice,” said a spokesperson for the group. “We will approach the Free State Human Rights Commission to mediate with the authorities as soon as possible. Failing this, we will have no choice but to lodge a formal complaint of a fundamental violation of human rights by the state.”

3. Background to the Case

The criminal case stems from the 2022 collapse of the Jagersfontein mine tailings dam. Following an investigation by the Hawks and the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) ordered that the suspects appear in the Jagersfontein Magistrates Court on 10 September.

The accused individuals are:

Marius De Villiers (59), compliance officer;
Petrus Johannes Combrick (60), operations manager;
Petrus Jacobus Oosthuizen (60), company director;
Gert Abraham Coetzee (34), company employee; and
Jan Holmes Viljoen (80), company employee.

After their initial appearance, the case was remanded to 22 October and has subsequently been set down for trial in Bloemfontein on 14 January 2026. They face charges including murder, malicious damage to property, and contravention of the Health and Safety Act. The technical report underpinning these charges was undertaken by the Universities of Pretoria (UP) and Witwatersrand (Wits), who were tasked by the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) to investigate the causes of the dam failure. The Hawks’ criminal evidence gathering led to the prosecutions.

4. Previous Demands for an Inquest

Earlier, the Lerumo Justice Forum and CSOs Tailings Working Group jointly demanded the immediate convening of an inquest in terms of Section 33 of the Inquests Act into the deaths of the following individuals, which we deem unnatural:

Aaron Ralehana Moseou (born 1944-10-21), Jagersfontein Town
Mantele Mokgadi (born 1971-12-20), Still missing, presumed dead, Charlesville
Msokoli Petrus Khuthu (born 1960-08-28), Itumeleng township
Katleho Solly Olifant, male, Charlesville township
Shadrack Williams, male, aged 70, Itumeleng

5. Scale of the Disaster

The sludge burst spewed toxins that impacted livestock, agricultural land, road infrastructure, the ecosystem, and polluted watercourses such as the Kalkfontein Dam and Prosesspruit River.

At the time of the disaster, official figures stated that close to 160 households in the Charlesville and Itumeleng townships were severely affected. In Charlesville, 18 of the 37 homes were swept away, partially or completely destroyed. In Itumeleng (Skoti) township, half of the 120 households’ families were displaced by the damage.

A separate civil matter, involving a group of 26 aggrieved persons lamenting the negative impact on their livelihoods, remains pending.

ENDS