Johannesburg – The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) made an about turn on Monday and said a man who was attacked in the Nkaneng informal settlement in Rustenburg on his way to a rally, was actually alive.

Spokesperson Lesiba Seshoka said earlier on Monday that the man had died, but claimed to have been given the wrong information.

“I was told by local union leaders in Rustenburg that he died on Sunday. Mxashi Sethethi actually called me in the middle of the night to inform me about his death.”

The man, who was wearing a NUM T-shirt, was beaten up and stabbed in the neck while on his way to attend a NUM recruitment rally at the Wonderkop stadium in Nkaneng on Sunday.

When contacted for comment, Sethethi said he had not spoken to the media about what happened and, therefore, was not responsible for the report.

“I do not know where the report that he is dead comes from. The man is alive and well.”

The NUM is trying to recruit new members after losing its majority union status to the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) at Lonmin’s Marikana mine.

The union has referred a dispute about the interpretation and implementation of its recognition agreement with the platinum mining company to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration.

Forty-four people were killed in Marikana last August during strike-related violence at Lonmin.

Police shot 34 of them on 16 August. Ten people, including two policemen and two security guards, were killed in the preceding week.

– SAPA