Seri: We need accountability for mineworkers killed at Marikana 8 years ago
On Sunday, the country will mark the anniversary of one of the darkest moments in the country’s history when police officials opened fire on striking Lonmin mineworkers killing 34 of them.
JOHANNESBURG - The Socio-Economic Rights Institute (Seri) has criticised the lack of justice for the families of the mineworkers who were killed eight years ago during the Marikana Massacre.
On Sunday, the country will mark the anniversary of one of the darkest moments in the country’s history when police officials opened fire on striking Lonmin mineworkers, killing 34 of them.
The workers were demanding higher wage increases.
The institute is hosting a commemorative webinar on Thursday where the children of the slain mineworkers will be sharing their experiences.
Seri said that since 2012, only nine police officers had been prosecuted for the deaths of three striking mineworkers and two police officers.
The organisation also complained that the National Prosecuting Authority had failed to hold anyone accountable for the deaths of the 34 mineworkers, blaming this on a lack of political will to deliver justice.
The institute’s senior attorney Zamatungwa Khumalo said: "We need accountability, we need somebody to be held responsible for what happened eight years ago. And what is even worse now is that we have a generation of children who were born and children who are still in school and still experience the effect of police brutality."
The institute also questioned why government had still not released the report by a panel of experts on policing and crowd management that was completed two years ago.
The report formed part of the Farlam Commission’s recommendations.
Instead, the institute said that excessive use of force and brutality by the police persisted citing incidents during the lockdown as an example of the unreformed policing system.
