Marikana report wastes a chance to excise festering sores in SAPS

05 July 2015 - 02:01 By Cees de Rover

From February 2013 to September 2014, I served as an expert witness, engaged by the South African Police Service, for the Marikana commission of inquiry. My task was to advise the SAPS on its interactions with the commission, assist the organisation in understanding what happened at Marikana and why, and provide guidance on ensuring it could never happen again.story_article_left1Like many others, I eagerly awaited the release of the commission's report. Surely the thousands of hours of testimony, almost two-and-a-half years of often painfully detailed and protracted hearings, would give us some answers - and provide a clear way forward.I was bitterly disappointed. The report does not provide any clear findings on individual responsibility. Rather, it "recommends" that the National Prosecuting Authority look into scene 1 and scene 2 in greater detail with a view to deciding whether anyone deserves to be prosecuted. It questions the "fitness for office" of two senior police officials, one of whom is now retired and the other whose professionalism and fitness for office have been in question for a long time anyway, and not just in relation to Marikana.Incredibly, the report exonerates South Africa's political leadership from any moral or legal responsibility and delivers little more than a gentle slap on the wrist to Lonmin and the two unions at the centre of the Marikana dispute, the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union and the National Union of Mineworkers. For the victims and the families of those who died or were injured at Marikana, the report delivers close to nothing, not even a decent recommendation about compensation.Did the final product really justify the expenditure in time, money and pain? I think not. The meagre results make a mockery of the painstaking work of the evidence leaders and the level of detail with which the commission was engaged. The report is weak, indecisive, nonspecific and, worst of all, it abjectly fails to hold to account any of the individuals and organisations involved in this sordid and sorry episode.There are some crumbs: we are, perhaps, going to have a talkfest about public order policing capabilities and equipment. No doubt this will lead to more recommendations that may spark yet more debate and provide yet more opportunities for embattled politicians to prevaricate and do nothing.story_article_right2But even the urgent and apparently straightforward opportunities the commission could have taken to change things right now were wasted. For example, a simple proposal to ban assault rifles, such as the R5 and R1, from being used in public order policing has not been taken up by the commission. This is in spite of the commission implying during the hearings that the national commissioner was acting irresponsibly in allowing these weapons to continue to be used despite advice received (from me) more than a year earlier that they be immediately withdrawn.The indictment of the police is fully deserved. The abject failures of SAPS leadership, not just at Marikana, are frightening to behold. Such festering sores do not deserve ongoing platforms for discussion and debate; they need to be firmly excised.Throughout my stay in South Africa I met with numerous police officials more interested in justifying their actions than in acknowledging their mistakes. This is worrying because it reflects a lack of capacity for self-reflection and self-criticism that will undermine even the most ambitious reform efforts.But the SAPS is also a victim of this mess. Many police officers who were at Marikana in August 2012, (mostly constables and sergeants), are deeply traumatised. Several took their own lives.The police leadership elected to avoid being specific about the human cost of the Marikana shootings within the force. Certainly the commission was not sufficiently interested to inquire. For me this was one of many indications of a willingness on the part of everyone involved, right down to the mainstream media, to place all blame at the foot of the police, thereby avoiding unpalatable questions about the responsibility of other, powerful players.The commission's failure to address the key police weakness - its leadership - is a failure of courage that will likely spell longer uncertainty for an organisation in desperate need of firm direction. Like any other professional police agency, in any other part of the world, the effective functioning of SAPS requires that it be led by qualified, experienced officials of unimpeachable integrity. There should be no place for political appointees who lack relevant formal qualifications, education, training and experience.full_story_image_hleft1Leadership failures undoubtedly played a part in what happened at Marikana. They also help to explain the inexorable deterioration of South Africa's national police service - failures that are reflected in increasingly grim crime statistics, in the erosion of expertise in critical areas, in the mass exodus of talent from the organisation and in the visible loss of public confidence and trust. That the commission chose not to explicitly address this issue in its findings is inexplicable.And the volatile question of whether there was political influence in the decisions leading up to the shootings was also too carefully navigated. After two-and-a-half years of hearings, the commission's timid conclusion is that there is insufficient "proof" of "executive direction" at Marikana. In other words, there is not enough evidence to sustain a charge that politicians interfered - for example by ordering the national commissioner to resolve the situation at Marikana at any cost.block_quotes_start It provides further opportunities for evasion and delay. Is it overly cynical to speculate that this has been the strategy all along? block_quotes_endThe implication, then, is that the police made all the crucial decisions without consulting responsible authorities at ministerial level. If that is true then it indicates that the force is operating beyond executive supervision and control: a highly dangerous situation meriting a clear finding and a firm recommendation from the commission. If that conclusion is wrong, and the executive was in fact involved, then the commission's failure to confirm the nature and extent of such involvement is highly regrettable.Either way, the judgment of the national commissioner is called into serious question. She repeatedly and firmly denied seeking or receiving any guidance from the police minister. If that is true, then it reveals that she does not understand and/or respect the requirements of the Police Act. It is surprising and concerning that the commission did not draw this conclusion.If, on the other hand, the commissioner did consult with and seek the guidance of the minister as she was required to do, then her testimony before the commission is seriously compromised. The above conclusions also hold true for the minister.story_article_left3Police officials in a democratic society are supposed to be "witnesses of truth". In the context of the Marikana commission, and with only a few honourable exceptions, the senior leadership of the police did not live up to this standard.In the end we are all left disappointed and frustrated. The commission's final report conveniently lets the politically and financially powerful off the hook while being unaccountably vague about who should be blamed. By proposing that critical questions of responsibility be referred to the NPA, it likely gives birth to yet another lengthy process of seeking the truth.The report provides generous fuel for more debate and further opportunities for an embattled government to evade and delay. Is it overly cynical to speculate that this has been the government's strategy all along?In the silence that follows, the families of those who died at Marikana can be heard, softly crying, still mourning their loss, still waiting for the truth, restoration and justice they were promised.What a disgrace.De Rover is head of the Swiss-based Equity International, which provides rights-based assistance to national police and security forces..

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