EFF leader Julius Malema has challenged the NPA to prosecute President Cyril Ramaphosa for the Marikana tragedy. Malema has been speaking during the ninth commemorative event in paying tribute to the 44 mineworkers killed at Marikana in North West on August 16, 2012.
It is being hosted by labour union, Amcu.
At the time, Ramaphosa was a non-executive director at Lonmin, the company involved in the labour dispute with workers. His company, Shanduka, was a minority shareholder in Lonmin.
Ramaphosa sent a series of emails that placed him in a bad light with some unions at that time.
Malema says if the NPA fails to take any action they will act.
“We want to call upon the legal representatives to intensify that case to ensure that our people, survivors and the families of those who are dead are paid both by the state and Cyril Ramaphosa as an individual and if they are not going to prosecute Ramaphosa, they must issue a none-prosecuting letter. As the EFF, we want to prosecute Ramaphosa through private prosecution.”
Malema says if the NPA refuses, they will go the private prosecution route.
Below is the live stream:
Meanwhile, former DA leader Mmusi Maimane says nine years on, there is still no justice for the families of Marikana miners.
Maimane says the government has not delivered on all the promises it made post the tragedy.
“Our tragedy today, nine years on, says we have a leadership and government that sat on empty promises. We were promised action. Still, nothing has happened. We were promised that the president would come and apologise. Still, nothing has happened. Still today in Marikana, nothing has changed. Instead, our people are living in the worst conditions. They are still drinking water with animals in the country of their birth.”
