Out of the 87 who died, only two have been identified, police said on Thursday, explaining that the fact that many were undocumented migrants made the process harder.
“We hold the view that government has blood on its hands,” Magnificent Mndebele from the Mining Affected Communities United in Action group (Macua), told the BBC.
He argued that the miners were given no warning about what was about to happen before the police operation began.
Over the past two months, Macua has been at the forefront of the various court battles initiated to compel the government to first allow supplies and then undertake a rescue operation.
Its blaming of the government echoes earlier statements from families who had said that the authorities had killed their loved ones.
They had taken a hard line since the operation intensified. In November, one minister, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, made the now infamous statement during a press briefing that they were going to “smoke them out”.
The state refused to allow food to be sent down or anyone to help retrieve the miners, only caving in after several successful court applications.
In November, small portions of instant maize and water made it down the shaft, but in a court statement, one of the miners said it was not enough for the hundreds of men down below, many of whom were too weak to even chew and swallow them.
More food was delivered in December, but again it could not sustain the men.
Given that the operation to bring up the men and bodies lasted just three days, what is hard for Mr Mndebele to understand is why this could not have been done sooner, when it was clear there was an issue.
“We’re disappointed by our government, frankly put, because this help has come too late.”
While the government is yet to formally respond to these accusations, police have vowed to continue with the wider operations to clear the country’s disused mines until May this year.
Speaking to journalists in Stilfontein on Tuesday, Mining Minister Gwede Mantashe was unapologetic. He said the government would intensify the fight against illegal mining, which he labelled a crime and an “attack on the economy”.
On Thursday, Police Minister Senzo Mchunu was a little more conciliatory.
“I do understand and accept that this is an emotional issue. Everyone wants to judge… but it would help all of us as South Africans to wait until pathologists have done and completed their job,” he said.
The police have defended their actions, saying providing the miners with food would have “allowed criminality to thrive”.
Illegal miners have been accused of fostering criminality in the communities where they operate.
A number of stories have been published in local media linking the zama zamas to various rapes and murders.
But for Mkwayi, who put his own safety on the line to help the miners, the men in the Stilfontein mine were just trying to make a living.
“People went down 2km with a rope and risked their lives to put food on the table for their families.”
He said he wants the government to give licences to artisanal miners who are forced to go into disused mines due to South Africa’s high unemployment rate.
“If your children are hungry, you won’t think twice about going down there because you have to feed them. You’ll risk your life to put food on the table.”
