State crunches numbers of Marikana claims worth almost R70m

Monday marked the ninth anniversary of the 2012 Marikana massacre, in which 44 people lost their lives, but the actual figures of longstanding claims by families were only released to the public on Tuesday. 

The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development’s solicitor-general Fhedzisani Pandelani outlined in a media briefing earlier on Tuesday what was being paid to claimants, and the remaining issues the state is having with finalising pending problems. 

Pandelani started the briefing by conceding that “Marikana could have been handled better”. 

On 16 August 2012, the South African Police Service (Saps) gunned down 34 striking miners at the Lonmin platinum mine in Marikana, North West. This was the most lethal use of state force in post-apartheid South Africa’s history.

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Claimants approached a number of legal representatives, with claims now being centralised to the State Attorney offices in Pretoria. 

He said this was government’s way of “centralising these issues to make sure matters are finalised as soon as possible.”

Wits Law Clinic and Seri claims

There were no outstanding matters after claims were lodged by the Wits Law Clinic. These claimants were paid R3,995,121.

35 of the 36 matters filed via the Socioeconomic Rights Institute (Seri) have been finalised, with payouts of R69,083,121. 

Pandelani explained that should the claims have been filed under the Once and for all Rule, the matters would have been resolved. 

However, he said Seri was requesting General and Constitutional Damages for all claimants, a figure that is “not easy to quantify”, but must still be approached “with humanity”. 

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As a result, he said the state offered to pay an additional R500,000 to the just under R70 million paid to Seri claimants. 

Seri rejected the offer, and presrnted a counter-offer of R1.5 million, which is still in court. 

“We are dealing with human beings. The R500,000 was solely in the spirit of good faith for the loss of loved ones.”

Remaining legal claims

Claims involving law firm Maluleke Msimang Attorneys, which is representing both wounded and unlawfully arrested victims, is currently in court. 

The outcome, Pandelani said, “might take time”. 

He said almost all documents required to quantify damages have been submitted, and all that remains is for the state’s offer to be considered. 

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Other victims who were injured and/or assaulted in 2012 filed through Thlathla Attorneys. 

Almost 27 claims were submitted, which are in the process of settlement negotiation. 

Nkome Attorneys has 275 claimants, 253 of which have to date been paid R97,685,000. 

Of the 22 remaining claimants, 11 are being negotiated, while 11 “have outstanding issues not yet resolved.” 

“But we are willing to engage,” Pindelani emphasised, saying the state was waiting to engage all legal representatives. 

According to him, all claims involving deceased mine workers have been settled. 

Those that are still alive need to be wrapped up soon, he said. 

“We are a caring state. This issue can’t be with us forever.” 

He said any claimants “alluding to not being cared for” through the claims process are encouraged to approach the State Attorney office “to verify the facts”. 

But he said government was limited in that they were not dealing with claimants directly, but through their legal representatives, and did not want “to be involved” in the client-attorney relationship. 

Since acquiring Lonmin in June 2019, Sibanye-Stillwater has embarked on what appears to be the biggest corporate effort yet in dealing with the socio-economic aftermath of the Marikana massacre for those who survived, including an ongoing project to build houses for the families of victims.

Additional reporting by Thapelo Lekabe and Simnikiwe Hlatshaneni