The door is now open for survivors of the Marikana massacre to hold President Cyril Ramaphosa personally liable for compensation.
Mastermind
This follows Judge Frits van Oosten upholding 4 of Ramaphosa’s exceptions, rejecting one, in which he found that Ramaphosa had taken part in, planned and endorsed the cooperation between Lonmin mine in Marikana and the South African Police Service.
This operation culminated in the deaths, injuries, arrests and detention of striking mine workers back in August 2012.
Lawyer for the Marikana widows, Asenati Tukela, welcomed the judgement saying that this is an important step in his clients’ quest for justice.
Acknowledgement
“We think that this is a very important step in the quest for justice for the families, and to also find closure. We think much of what justice is is closure and understanding the circumstances that caused the traumatic event.” says Tukela.
He also adds that for the past 10 years they have always been pleading for acknowledgement and acknowledging who was responsible, who should be held liable.
Mineworker’s lawyer, Andries Nkome says they have always argued that the massacre was as a result of a toxic collusion between state and capital. He further adds that he is happy now the orchestrator of the incident, being the President, will have to answer.
Justice
“This allows our clients to go back to review the findings of the Farlam Commission, simply because Judge Farlam did not come to a conclusion that says Ramaphosa was personally at the centre of this, and he’s the one that caused the toxic collusion he had masterminded.” reiterates Nkome.
To date, the families of the slain Marikana miners are yet to receive an apology for the #MarikanaMassacre. Phumeza Mabiya and Nokuthula Zibambele whose husbands were shot and killed by the police in Marikana express the demand for an apology from the state. pic.twitter.com/gcEgeGZU7i
— SERI (@SERI_RightsSA) June 28, 2022
