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South Africa: 'I Saw Death. It Was Coming to Me' - 10 Years Since Marikana Massacre
DW, 16 August 2022
A decade after 34 striking miners were gunned down by police in Marikana, South Africa, most of the victims and their families complain that nobody has been prosecuted, nor have… Read more »
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South Africa: The Great Crime of Marikana
ISS, 16 August 2022
They knew bloodshed was likely, and yet South Africa's police commanders launched their operation against striking miners. Read more »
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South Africa: Marikana 10 Years On - Survey Shows Knowledge of Massacre Is Low
The Conversation Africa, 16 August 2022
To explore the patterns of collective memory in South Africa after nearly three decades of democracy, we set out to establish how much of the country's recent history people in the… Read more »
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South Africa: Marikana Massacre - South Africa Needs to Build a Society That's Decent and Doesn't Humiliate People
The Conversation Africa, 11 August 2022
On 16 August mine workers, activists and no doubt a few politicians will gather on the now infamous rock outcrop near the former Lonmin Platinum mine in Marikana, North West… Read more »
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South Africa: We Must Fight to Ensure That Those Slain At Marikana On 16 August 2012 Did Not Die in Vain
Daily Maverick, 15 August 2022
How will our own children remember the Marikana Massacre 10 years after the killing of 34 mineworkers by the police at Lonmin? Read more »
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South Africa: Ten Years On - the Possibility of Holding Ramaphosa Personally Liable for the Marikana Tragedy
Daily Maverick, 15 August 2022
While South Africa's labour laws are either celebrated or bemoaned as some of the most progressive in the world, even progressive collective bargaining law accepts unquestioningly… Read more »
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South Africa: Families of Slain Marikana Mine Workers Reflect On Decade of 'Betrayal'
Daily Maverick, 15 August 2022
As the country prepares to remember that horrific day 10 years ago, the victims' families tell Daily Maverick of their sense of betrayal and justice not served, giving their… Read more »
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South Africa: State Seeks to Finalise Outstanding Litigation in Marikana Matter
SAnews.gov.za, 10 August 2022
General Fhedzisani Pandelani from the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, has assured claimants from the tragic 2012 Marikana incident, that their cases could be… Read more »
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Africa: Massacres and Atrocities Are One Part of South Africa's Crime Story
ISS, 10 August 2022
Large-scale attacks provoke outrage, but so should the daily devastation wreaked by murder, rape and brutality in South Africa. Read more »
Reliving Pain, Betrayal of South Africa's Marikana Massacre
Families of victims of the Marikana Massacre have said that a sense of betrayal and injustice remains, 10 years after the shooting of the miners who were on strike for higher wages and better living conditions. Survivors and families of those killed by police officers, continue a struggle of seeking accountability and litigation which, to date, has amounted to about U.S.$4 million (R76 million) paid by the State.
More recent developments have seen President Cyril Ramaphosa held personally responsible, with many citing his conduct during the event as a factor that contributed to the deaths of the miners. Those seeking legal action have taken the case to the Johannesburg High Court and are seeking U.S.$60 million (R1 billion) in damages from the president and metals producer Lonmin - now owned by Sibanye-Stillwater.
The 2012 tragedy saw miners demanding a living wage of at least R12,500 per month - about U.S.$758 at the current exchange rate - shot by police officers. 34 miners were fatally shot while two police offers and two security guards were killed by the striking mineworkers.
The massacre became a watershed event in South African history, making global headlines, and, according to The Conversation, was so brutal that it was likened to the 1960 Sharpeville Massacre, where apartheid police shot and killed 69 unarmed, fleeing civilians.
InFocus
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Nine years after the Marikana Massacre - where 34 miners striking for higher monthly wages were killed by the South African Police Service - Solicitor General Fhedzisa Read more »
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The seventh anniversary of the Marikana Massacre, which saw 34 miners at Lonmin Platinum's Marikana operations shot dead during a protest, has brought no sign of justice for the ... Read more »
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The 2012 Mariklana Massacre saw 34 miners at Lonmin Platinum's Marikana operations shot dead during a protest, an event that drew sharp criticism against the ruling African ... Read more »
Screenshot from the 'Miners Shot Down' documentary showing police around one of their armoured vehicles at sunset (file photo).
