Residents of Marikana in the North West want the place where 34 mine workers where shot and killed on the 16th of August in 2012 to be marked as a heritage site.
The mineworkers where shot by police during an unprotected wage strike. They were demanding that their salaries be increased to R12 500 a month.
This year was the first time that the Marikana massacre was commemorated outside Marikana.
This was due to lockdown regulation that prohibits large gatherings due to the coronavirus pandemic.
It was quiet at the koppie for most of the day, with residents being seen running their errands. Later in the day, friends and relatives of the slain mineworkers gathered at the koppie to lay a wreath at the two places where mineworkers were shot.
Today marks 8 years since the #MarikanaMassacre . We salute and remember the lives of those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for a decent living wage in South African mines. May their souls continue to Rise In Power (RIP). Aluta Continua ✊ #LonminMassacre #Marikana pic.twitter.com/m18B2k1kjS
— SteveBikoFoundation (@BikoFoundation) August 16, 2020
The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union’s (AMCU) Rustenburg Regional Chairperson for Health and Safety, Molete Thoane, says they had no choice but to hold the commemoration outside Marikana.
“The decision was taken in respect of the protocol that has been put in place, because this tragedy has affected a lot of people. If we held the event, it would’ve attracted masses. And we don’t want to be viewed as being against the rules of the state,” says Thoane.
Some mineworkers who came to pay their respects say they are not happy that this year’s commemoration was held in Johannesburg.
“The commemoration is usually hosted here for the past seven years so that the people here could try to heal emotionally. So it is like an emotional suicide to take the commemoration back to Joburg whereas it has happened here,” says a mineworker.
“We are here to ask that this day should not end, it should continue for many years to come so that our children could see what happened here,” says another mineworker.
Residents say eight years after the killings, there’s no justice for the families of the slain mineworkers and no development in the area.
Community leader, Napoleon Webster, believes that the area needs to be developed to honour those who were killed during the unprotected strike.
“It is very painful that our government is not making an effort for us to find closure. It is very painful that people who are in power, being of our own skin, black like us, are not doing enough to bring solutions so we can have closure. It’s a very painful chapter,” says Webster.
A march that was organised by the Sinethemba Women Organisation to the koppie, did not take place apparently because of a communication breakdown between them and AMCU.
The march was to support the widows of the miners who died during the incident.
Remembering Marikana Massacre | Advocate Dali Mpofu
