Cyril not guilty — but can help salve the wounds of Marikana

Deputy president’s return to the site of the tragedy will open way for national healing, says James Motlatsi

Listening to Cyril Ramaphosa speak about the Marikana tragedy at Rhodes University last week, I became even more convinced that South Africa will not be whole until it has healed the wounds of Marikana.

In answer to a question from the audience, he apologised for the language he used in describing the terrible events unfolding at the mine in August 2012.

He spoke about his willingness to be involved in an initiative by Winnie Madikizela-Mandela to visit the area and to meet the families of the 44 people killed during that week.

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From what one reads, it is clear that some people misunderstood what he said at Rhodes. Some misreported it. But we should not allow the cynicism of a few to blind us to the value of this opportunity.

I have known Ramaphosa for 35 years. Together with the late Elijah Barayi, we founded the National Union of Mineworkers and built it into one of the biggest industrial unions in South Africa.

At the time, mineworkers were among the most exploited of workers. We were among the worst paid and subjected to the most inhuman living conditions and the most dangerous working conditions. Mineworkers were dying like flies and being buried like dogs.

It was largely thanks to the struggles waged by the NUM that the situation of mineworkers so significantly improved. They are now among the better-paid industrial workers. They have better working conditions and provident funds.

The NUM itself provides bursaries for a number of their children. Mine safety has significantly improved and companies have done important work in providing treatment for diseases such as HIV and TB.

Of course, the struggles of mineworkers continue — for better housing and living conditions, improved health and safety, opportunities for training, and wages that fully reflect the value of their labour.

Having worked alongside Ramaphosa in the NUM, and having been his friend and comrade ever since, I know well his commitment, his passion, his loyalty to the mineworkers of this country.

I know his character. I know what he is capable of, what he is prepared to do and what he is not prepared to do. Since he left the NUM, he has had many different roles, from ANC secretary-general to a negotiator at Codesa, from chairman of the Constitutional Assembly to successful businessman.

Although he has effortlessly adapted to each new role, he has not changed. He is still the idealistic, ambitious, principled and dedicated person he was when, at the age of 30, he became the first general secretary of the NUM.

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It was this Cyril Ramaphosa that was a director of Lonmin at the time of the Marikana tragedy.

His response to the events unfolding at the mine has been the subject of much debate, criticism and even anger. His accusers make frequent reference to phrases he used in e-mails to Lonmin management in the days before the 34 mineworkers were shot by the police.

They suggest that by describing the killings that had already been committed on and around the mine as "dastardly criminal acts" and calling for the police to take "concomitant action" against those responsible, he precipitated one of the worst acts of state violence since 1994.

While the Farlam commission of inquiry into the tragedy found that the accusations made against him were "groundless", Ramaphosa will forever be associated with Marikana.

And while no one has come forward with any evidence that he had any role in the deaths of the 34 mineworkers, it is now clear to me that he needs to be part of any healing process.

His involvement in the events at Marikana began on Sunday August 12, when he received an e-mail from Lonmin's chief commercial officer about violence at the mine that had resulted in the death of two security staff. He made a plea for a massive police presence "to protect life and limb".

In his statement to the Farlam commission, Ramaphosa said that he undertook to speak with the government: "My motivation in so doing was to prevent further loss of life and injury."

While most people would have responded the same way under such circumstances, there is an important historical precedent that may have further motivated him to act in the way he did.

Over the course of several months in 1986 leading up to the Great Miners' Strike of 1987, violence between mineworkers at the Vaal Reefs, President Steyn and Western Deep Levels mines claimed the lives of dozens of mineworkers. At President Steyn Mine No4 shaft alone, as many as 87 workers lost their lives.

As the violence escalated, Ramaphosa and other NUM leaders pleaded with management and the apartheid police to act to stop the violence and prevent further loss of life, with little success.

As the reports came in from Marikana in August 2012 of mineworkers being killed in violent clashes, it is not surprising that Ramaphosa felt compelled to do whatever he could to stop the violence.

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An e-mail sent to managers at Lonmin late on the Sunday before the massacre reports on a conversation he had with the minister of police: "I ... stressed that they should immediately take steps to ensure that they protect life and property and bring those responsible for the terrible acts of violence and death to book."

That was the last communication he had with the minister of police before the killing of 34 miners four days later.

Over the course of the next three days, another eight people were killed as the conflict escalated. The words that Ramaphosa used in describing these killings are indeed harsh, but perhaps understandable given the circumstances.

While the debate may continue to rage about whether his words were justified or not, the reality is that by the end of the week, 44 people lay dead.

As a nation, we have yet to come to terms with the enormity of that tragedy.

We have yet to properly console those who lost loved ones, to compensate those who lost livelihoods and to begin the long, difficult process of healing.

We should embrace the initiative by Madikizela-Mandela, which has received encouragement from many people, including the leadership of the NUM and religious leaders from as far afield as the Eastern Cape.

We have an opportunity now to enter a new era in Marikana.

• NUM founding president Motlatsi is the chairman of Platfields and executive chairman of TEBA