Marikana trial delay may not be bad thing, says institute

The Institute for Security Studies (ISS) believe the six-year wait for the court proceedings of the police officers implicated in the Marikana killings may not be a bad thing.

“Given that the National Prosecuting Authority has decided to proceed with this case shows that they believe they have a very strong case against the police officials [implicated in the killings] so the five-year long delay may not be a problem,” said head of justice and violence prevention at ISS Gareth Newham.

Six of the nine senior police officers who appeared in court yesterday in connection with the Marikana shootings that led to the deaths of mine workers, were given bail.

These killings happened before the massacre in which 34 mine workers were killed when the police tried to break up a violent strike at the Marikana platinum mine northwest of Johannesburg in August 2012. The incident became known as the Marikana Massacre.

Charges against them include murder, attempted murder and subverting the course of justice.

Newham said the delay was not ideal, because the shorter the time frame between the criminal offence and the criminal case, the less likely they were to have problems.

He said one of the major issues that may arise from delaying a case for many years was that witnesses might not remember their experiences clearly enough to testify in court, which could result in them contradicting themselves.

“It’s always a concern when it takes such a long time – in this case, more than five years – for a criminal case to get to court because the longer it takes, the more difficult it is to allow people’s oral evidence.”

Despite this, he said, it is “better now than never”.

“The evidence that the Independent Investigative Directorate has presented to them is very strong and gives them a good chance in a successful case, resulting in a conviction,” he said.

Newham also added that the fact that the case was finally being handled by the court demonstrated that when police officers acted outside the law, especially when it involved the loss of lives of civilians, they would be held accountable for their actions even if it took time.

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