Marikana Massacre: 9 years on, still no one has taken responsibility

Looking back after nine-years, many questions remain unanswered, and real accountability for the fatal shooting of 34 miners at the hands of the police still appears to be a distant dream for their families.

The lives of 44 people were lost during the tragic event known as the Marikana Massacre in 2012, and none of their families have received justice. Lost in translation, as it appears in public discourse, is the exact meaning of justice and accountability regarding the event.

On the list of those to blame, ANC leadership, the police and its ministry. as well as the the executives of Lonmin plc are placed at the top by activists, opposition parties and labour unions.

Benchmarks Foundation Director, John Capel echoes the sentiments of labour unions AMCU and NUM in his call for employers in the mining sector to use the Marikana tragedy as a call to end South Africa’s long history of relying on cheap labour and questionable labour practices, to generate wealth for multi-billion Rand entities.

And there are also several people who need to still account, says Capel, as to why dozens of lives were lost that fateful week, as ten security officials, including members of the police, also perished during clashes with striking miners in the days leading up to the massacre.

Political injustice

President Cyril Ramaphosa, a former Lonmin board member, has previously apologised for the language he used in emails he sent to fellow directors in the days leading up to the tragedy.

One particular email dominated reports at the time in which the billionaire businessman apparently sounded a call for “concomitant action” to be taken in regards to the protest action which had brought the Marikana gold mine to a standstill.

Former police commissioner Riyah Piyega‘s name also frequently comes up this time every year since the tragedy, as the subject of damning findings in the Farlam Comission of Inquiry into the Marikana deaths. The commission recommended that her fitness to hold office should be investigated following the tragedy.

In June this year, Phiyega lost her Pretoria High Court bid to have the commission’s findings on her overturned.

Also Read: Riah Phiyega used as ‘scapegoat’

“Basically you will recall that the information we were getting at the time was the information that was given to the media, which is why (Phiyega) ended up being the fall woman for that tragedy. When it comes to the issue of Cyril really the ANC mishandled it because it was not discussed openly,” says Dr Makhosi Khoza, former Member of Parliament for the ANC.

Rarely was the matter brought up in caucus meetings and when it was, Ramaphosa would not be available to account, except on one occasion where he apologized for language he used in correspondence with the mine. He never apologised for his alleged part in getting the South African Police Service to send more officers to the site of the protest in the small North West Province town, she points out.

“The ANC needs to graduate to taking political responsibility when disasters like this happen. Some years later and there have been worse tragedies than Marikana as a result of bad public order policing,” she adds, referring to the death of 300 people following violent protests in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng last month.

Notably, she remarks, Police Minister Bheki Cele was at the helm in both tragedies. To date, the SAPS has paid out R176-million in compensation to families of the miners killed. The SAPS public order policing unit is facing R18-million worth of civil claims.

Speaking at the memorial service held on Monday for the deceased miners, AMCU president Joseph Mathunjwa says the scars of that day will not be healed until mining companies stop paying low wages to those tasked with digging for precious minerals. AMCU members also held a wreath-laying ceremony at the site of the deaths in Marikana.

National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) Secretary General Willaim Mabapa also alludes to the involvement of rival union AMCU when he recalls the roots of the violence which erupted that day.

Also Read: Marikana Massacre: EFF ‘exploring’ private prosecution while NUM laments ‘politicisation’

“That strike as you recall was hijacked and the whole thing became taken over by other people,” he says. NUM is also of the view that justice has not fully been served because aside from the police, there has been no accountability by those who were in power at the time, and some of the families of the 34 miners who died at the hands of police still have unanswered questions.”

Lessons learned

Since acquiring Lonmin in June 2019, Sibanye-Stillwater has embarked on what appears to be the biggest corportate 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.

Spokesperson for Sibanye-Stillwater Memory Johnstone says the lessons learned following the events of 16 August 2012 are not just for the mining industry but for the country as a whole.

“We studied the outcomes of the Farlam Commission and have found practical learnings around socio-economic development and workplace relationships. Since the acquisition of Lonmin and Marikana in 2019, we have continued to focus on safety and security with a view to improve conflict resolution. Our approach has been to increase stakeholder engagement and we have put grievance mechanisms in place,” says Johnstone.

The company is also tackling the social challenges in the mining town by delivering on its social and labour plans which include building roads, clinics, schools and water projects.

Johnstone confirms that the process of building and delivering houses to the widows of the deceased is still underway.

“Four of the new houses we are building are located in Lesotho and materials needed to be sourced from South Africa. The other houses are located in the Eastern Cape, Mafikeng, Mpumalanga, and Kimberley.

“The breakout of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lock-down in 2020 had an impact on our building programme just like it affected our entire economy.”

The building of five of the houses this year was delayed due to the lockdown, but will now be completed by the end of 2021. Another house is being sourced from the market by one of the widows who is still looking for a house that will best suit her circumstances, Her house is expected to be delivered by the end of the year.

“The widows or their family representatives have been employed at Marikana since before Sibanye-Stillwater acquired the operation and their employment remains secure. In addition, Sibanye-Stillwater also pays for the educational needs of all the beneficiaries who are at various stages of their education, including tertiary level. Some beneficiaries have dropped out of school, but we invited them to return and have offered counselling. Four beneficiaries decided to accept the offer to return,” Johnstone says.

Simnikiweh@citizen.co.za