JAGERSFONTEIN – Criminal proceedings centred around the Jagersfontein tailings dam disaster will continue in the Free State Division of the High Court, in Bloemfontein. The criminal case involving five employees of an engineering company, Jagersfontein Development (JD), is set to resume on 22 April in the higher court following transfer from the lower court – Jagersfontein Magistrates’ Court.
Lt. Col Zweli Mohobeleli, provincial spokesperson for the Hawks, confirmed the transfer of the case involving five employees facing criminal charges related to the Jagersfontein Dam tragedy of 11 September 2022. It was last heard on 22 October last year after the investigations were completed. The extensive evidence gathering included forensic analysis and witness statements about events that led to the dam wall collapse in September 2022.
According to the charge sheet, the individuals charged 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. Charges include murder, malicious damage to property, and contravention of the Health and Safety Act.
Charges of murder relate to the deaths of victims identified as Aaron Ralehana Moseou, Msokoli Petrus Khuthu, Katleho Solly Olifant, and Shadrack Williams. The fifth victim, Mantele Mokgadi from Charlesville, is still missing and presumed dead. The authorities have yet to confirm her status. It is understood that the transfer of the case to the High Court is due to the severity of the charges.
The criminal case followed intensive investigations undertaken by multidisciplinary state agencies and private entities. They include Environmental Management Inspectorates from both the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) and the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), as well as the Free State Hawks’ Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI). In addition, two institutions: the Universities of Pretoria (UP) and the Witwatersrand (Wits) were enlisted to investigate the causes of the failure of the tailings dam.
It emerged that the engineering company JD was operating the tailings dam at the time of its collapse on 11 September 2022. Several residential properties in the Charlesville and Itumeleng townships were damaged, as well as infrastructure of the Kopanong Local Municipality, due to the toxic liquid sludge from the dam. In addition, the incident resulted in the loss of human life and livestock.
Mohobeleli said a criminal case docket was opened and referred to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) of South Africa in Bloemfontein. After analysing the case docket and establishing that the activities constituted a crime, he said the prosecution ordered that the five men appear in court to face the charges brought against them.
