'Mr X' told that he's a fraud

Controversial police witness "Mr X" has been accused of exaggerating the importance of his part in the strike at Lonmin's Marikana platinum mine in August 2012.

The accusation was made during the cross-examination of Mr X yesterday by advocate Geoff Budlender, an evidence leader at the Farlam Commission of Inquiry into the events surrounding the killing of Marikana strikers by the police.

Budlender questioned the witness's claims that he was one of the five elected leaders of the strike .

Budlender produced an affidavit written by Mr X in February last year in which Mr X said he had not been among those elected.

Budlender asked him about the extent of his involvement in the events leading to the August 16 killing of 34 miners by the police.

"[You] exaggerate your own importance . You may have been a foot soldier, but you want to present yourself as a general."

Budlender questioned whether Mr X had been present at a confrontation between the police and striking miners on August 13 2012, which left three miners and two policemen dead.

Mr X had previously testified that he had been involved in the skirmish and had personally attacked police officers.

He named miners whom he alleged participated in the killing, and in the looting of the dead.

But Mr X was unable to identify himself in photographs submitted to the commission.

He contradicted himself about the clothes he wore. Previously he had testified that he had not changed his attire (or bathed) for days on the orders of an inyanga who gave muti to the miners.

Mr X complained of a headache and the police lawyers asked that his testimony be postponed until July 14. This was granted.