The South African Police Service (SAPS) announced on Monday, November 18 that it will give antiretroviral (ARV) medicine to illegal miners who refuse to resurface at the Stilfontein mining shaft in the North West.

This comes after the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria granted an interim injunction saying that the mining tunnel may not be obstructed by any person or entity, neither government nor private.

On Monday, officials on site and rescue teams, received a message from the illegal miners written in isiZulu, begging for ARVs.

The news that the zama zamas (illegal miners) will receive the medication aggravated South Africans who took to social media to air their opinions.

Social Media RESPONSES

“So you can take ARVs without a prescription. Interesting! Being a criminal in RSA truly has rewards. Now you don’t have to queue on hospitals like law abiding citizens,” a social media user Tshepi posted.

Another user, Cecilia, added to the conversation, saying elders have to go to clinic to get the ARVs, but “Criminals who don’t want to come out because they don’t want to be arrested are getting ARVs delivered to them. I hate this country”.

‘Mr.RightNow’ compared the doomed ‘Lily Mine Three’ mine workers whose bodies have been trapped underground since February 2016.

“The government failed to take immediate action to rescue Lily Three (mine collapse) but now they are showing effort to rescue the Zama Zamas by providing them with ARVs and food underground,” he said.

Another user, K2, simply said that in a normal nation with rules and morality, the criminals within that mine would not have dared to pose demands like asking for food and ARVs.

ARVs AS STREET DRUG

Naledi claimed that the ARVs were not going to the mine to treat HIV. “We all learned long ago that ARVs form part of the ingredients to make nyaope (street drug). No one is sick down there, they’re just running out of drugs.”

LadyM1306 commented that South Africans are regarded as xenophobes, but that officials are happy to provide ARVs to criminals who refuse to comply with the law.

“On a serous note though, South Africans have tolerated way beyond reasonable. Zama zamas are in the country illegally, trapped in a mine illegally and for some odd reason, demand ARVs from the government that they are stealing minerals from and undermining its authority,” added Bekithemba Zulu.

An estimated 4,500 illegal miners are said to be trapped underground with little food and water since a police operation on October 18. The police insist the miners are free to resurface but will be arrested.

Thugnificent:
Nawa to the HIV Capital of the world

Mariangeles:
Does that mean practically everyone in South Africa is living with HIV? 😳

RandDigital:


In that case you should screen Chidimma. She does look a bit bony😂😂😂

Sonnobax15:

Freedom doesn't look good on these generation of south Africans at all....

Mandela really wasted his life in prison for these inhumane set of negroes,and of which I strongly believe he must be regretting in his grave

Mariangeles:


Her Nigerian blood is resistant to HIV.

RandDigital:


Lol, keep preaching those fairytales to your nigerian blodas with an obsession for South Africans women. I wanna see something 😂😂😂

RandDigital:


We'll run the country the way we see fit. No more free ride for outsiders who see SA as a playing ground because our police aren't trigger happy unlike where they come from.

RandDigital:


Doesn't stop your blodas from obsessing about SA women. Ask these illegal miners from Zim, Moz and Lesotho how they got infected 😂😂😂.

Sonnobax15:
. If you think this is the best way to cleanse your country,then ,I must really tell you,you lots are bunch of cowards!!!

If wasting the lives of your fellow countrymen and that of those whom you perceive to be those you hate with all your heart is one of the few things that gives you orgasms in south Africa,well,free feel to flex on it,so long you don't rub it on the rest of us in Africa who don't believe in your madness.......

Thugnificent:
God forbid we have anything to do with Xenophobic HiV infected mongrels

Larryfest:
Stop posting SA news on Nairaland rather do so on Randland or you guys don't have any popular newsworthy outlet

RandDigital:


We have DSTV

MadPolitician:
The whites from Netherlands and France used to own the mines. They made billions of dollars of "profits" from those mines and are still doing so. That's how the richest South African ended up being White. The South African blacks never called them Zama Zama or kwerrekwerres (whatever that nonsense means). But they now want blacks from other countries to die in the.mines as a way of punishing the so-called foreigners "stealing their jobs". My take is very simple; if South African blacks can tolerate Dutch kwerekweres and Zama Zamas, they should happily tolerate Zimbabwean and Mozambiquean and Nigerian kwerekweres too. No kwerekweres are better than the others..

Larryfest:

Then post it on DSTV and stop disturbing on us Nairaland.

RandDigital:


So no rule of law then? Ok. Were the whites operating outside of the rule of law?

Anyway, how can illegal miners "steal our jobs"? We dont want illegal jobs. Are you listening to the criminality you're advocating? Is Nigeria really that lawless that you see nothing wrong with this?

BrokenTV:

They worst part of it all is that you guys are very very lazy to the core.

RandDigital:


Lol, keep preaching those fairytales to your nigerian blodas with an obsession for South African women (which is 90% of your corntry). I wanna see something 😂😂😂

RandDigital:


So no rule of law then? Ok. Were the whites operating outside of the rule of law?

Anyway, how can illegal miners "steal our jobs"? We dont want illegal jobs. Are you listening to the criminality you're advocating? Is Nigeria really that lawless that you see nothing wrong with this?

yommen:


Sorry to your blodas riddled with inferiority complex that they can't match up to Nigerian guys. Why your girls choose us over you.

Mariangeles:


Her Nigerian blood is resistant to HIV.