Sunday marked the eight-year anniversary of when police opened fire on striking Lonmin mineworkers.
EWN reports that 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.
Seri, which represents the families of the 34 striking miners - who were killed by the police on 13 and 16 August 2012 - at the Marikana Commission of Inquiry. Sunday will mark the anniversary of when police officials opened fire on striking Lonmin mineworkers who were demanding higher wages. The organisation 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. Furthermore, Seri said police brutality could no longer go unpunished as per the numerous accounts of heavy-handedness throughout the lockdown by various law enforcement bodies resulting in violations of dignity, physical injury, and even death.
EWN quoted Seri’s Nomzamo Zondo, who said government’s failure to deliver any form of justice to the families has contributed to the country’s amnesia around the massacre.
“We need accountability, we need somebody to be held responsible for what happened eight years ago. The institute also questioned why the government had still not released a report by a panel of experts on policing and crowd management that was completed two years ago. The compilation of the report formed part of the Farlam Commission’s recommendations.”
