Widows of the Marikana miners killed at the Lonmin platinum mine in August 2012 this week descended on the North West High Court, hoping to learn whether any police officers would finally be held responsible.
The miners were gunned down during wage-related unrest that erupted at the North West mine. Several police officers and a security guard were also gunned down or hacked to death in the days before August 16 2012, which was to go down in history as the day of the Marikana Massacre.
Speaking on behalf of the widows, Nandipha Gunuza said while they had received financial compensation after the deaths of their loved ones, they still yearned for closure.
“We have come to follow these proceedings because some of us lost loved ones on the 13th, while others of us lost people on the 16th. We want to hear for ourselves what will unfold in court. We want to see the people who were behind those terrible things put behind bars. We want to hear them tell of what happened while they are in prison and not relay these stories while they are out free,” she said.
“It pains us to be here because, so far, all of this has yielded no results. For us to be satisfied, we need to see them behind bars. We are widows and some lost their brothers because of the police’s action. For us to get satisfaction or closure as families, we need to see people jailed,” she added.
Gunuza’s husband, Bonginkosi Yona, was among the 34 mineworkers who were gunned down on that terrible day.
The 32-year-old was originally from Cacadu in the Eastern Cape. Records taken at the time of the killing revealed he had been shot three times in the back. The married father of two had a child who was just a week old at the time of the massacre.
Since the unrest, a commission of inquiry has been held, but no one has taken responsibility for the fatalities.
Eight years later and Gunguza says she has not lost hope that justice will eventually be served.
“We did get financial compensation for losing our loved ones, but for us to find peace, we need to meet government. We have never met with government. Government needs to hear from us what is within us, and we need to do the same from them,” she said.
At the time of the unrest, President Cyril Ramaphosa had interests in Lonmin. He was a non-executive director of the mine. There have been numerous calls for him to meet the affected mineworkers or the grieving widows. Ramaphosa himself has said he would honour an invitation to meet the affected individuals, but this has yet to happen.
Those who are now in the dock for the events that unfolded are former North West deputy police commissioner William Mpembe as well as ex-cop Colonel Salmon Vermaak. The other officers are Constable Nkosana Mguye and Warrant Officers Collin Mogale‚ Katlego Sekgweleya and Khazamola Makhubela.
Mpembe is charged with the murders of four people – including two police officers who were acting on his instruction on August 13 2012. The other five accused are charged with the murder of one mineworker, Pumzile Sokhanyile.
Mpembe also faces numerous counts of attempted murder and one of defeating the ends of justice.
In addition, he is accused of lying to the Farlam commission of inquiry, which probed the fatal shooting. The indictment says he gave false evidence to the commission when he failed to disclose to the inquiry that he gave instruction to police to fire teargas and stun grenades at striking miners. It was this act that led to the death of the four and injuries of numerous people at the scene.
Vermaak also faces charges of defeating the ends of justice for failing to account for his role on the events on August 13 2012. He was alleged to have instructed junior police officers at the scene to shoot at the miners.
All these charges are in relation to the incidents that solely unfolded on that day, when striking miners who were allegedly armed with an assortment of weapons including pangas, spears and knobkerries were stopped by police while making their way from the mine to a koppie. Five people died on that day as police and striking miners clashed.
A total of 44 people lost their lives in the days of unrest at the mine.
Asked whether they were united in their grief with the widows of police workers who were killed, Yona asked not to be drawn into the matter, adding only that those widows were not part of their entourage that was present in court.
The case continues.
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