Police said calm has been restored in Northam‚ Limpopo after members of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) clashed on Monday morning.
Police spokesperson Colonel Ronel Otto said the violence is believed to be linked to the murder of an NUM member in the area on Sunday.
The 45-year-old man‚ who was an employee at Northam Platinum mine‚ was shot in the head on Sunday afternoon. His killer is believed to have fled the scene on foot.
Otto said that an Amcu member had reportedly been stabbed with an assegai as the violence escalated on Monday morning. Vehicles had been torched on the Northam/Thabazimbi Road and motorists were urged to avoid the area.
Otto has now said that “the situation is back to normal”‚ with roads in the area open to traffic again.
The public order policing unit had used rubber bullets to disperse the union members‚ she said.
NUM confirmed the death of its member in a statement‚ but Amcu said it was not in a position to confirm the death of one of its members.
Northam Platinum mine said on Monday that operations at its Zondereinde mine in Limpopo had been suspended due to the violence that had spread to the mine from the nearby town of Northam.
"Management is seeking to meet with employee representatives‚ while security and the SAPS are attempting to calm the situation‚" it had said.
No arrests have been made yet.
NUM called on Northam Platinum mine to issue a reward to anyone with information that could secure an arrest.
– TMG Digital
