South Africa seals access route to trapped illegal miners

An estimated 4,000 illegal miners have been trapped in an abandoned mine in South Africa’s Northwest Province since October 18. Authorities said Thursday that they have blocked off the entrances used to deliver supplies to discourage unregulated mining, according to several news reports. Professor Sipho Seepe, a political analyst and former deputy vice chancellor for Institutional Support at the University of Zululand, tells VOA’s James Butty, while illegal mining is a nuisance in South Africa, he hopes the authorities will honor the constitutional right to life.