Before President Cyril Ramaphosa’s appearance at the state capture commission this week, the legal teams representing the victims of the Marikana massacre have lamented the government’s slow progress in implementing the recommendations of another commission he was involved in, the Farlam inquiry.
“The compensation has been too little, too late. Almost nine years later the people who probably deserved the most, the most seriously injured, have not been paid yet,” said Dali Mpofu, representing the 270 injured and arrested mineworkers.
Ramaphosa, who testified as then deputy president at the Marikana commission of inquiry for two days in August 2014, was also implicated as a Lonmin nonexecutive director — who had asked then police minister Nathi Mthethwa to take stronger action during the violent wage strike. Shortly afterwards, police gunned down 34 striking mineworkers.
Retired judge Ian Farlam went on to exonerate him of responsibility for the fatal events of August 2012. The report pinned the blame on the SA Police Service (SAPS) leadership, on Lonmin for failing to protect nonstriking employees, and on the strikers.
The Farlam report in 2015 made several key recommendations, including that a review panel be established into public order policing. Though monetary compensation was out of its terms of reference, it advised that the issues should be resolved without lengthy or expensive legal proceedings.
The government agreed to a Marikana settlement process, working through the office of the state attorney, which is responsible for civil litigation cases against state officials. However, this process dragged on for several years and families of the slain miners and the victims hoped that when Ramaphosa became president in 2018 he would move with haste to resolve the claims, given his links to Marikana.
Lawyer for the relatives, Nomzamo Zondo of the Socio-Economic Rights Institute of SA (Seri), says thus far 34 families have been paid out only their loss of support claims, ranging between R140,000 and R3m, depending on the salary the mineworker was earning at the time.
Further punish
“There has been no payments for psychosocial support, the pain and suffering that the families underwent and no news about the state’s apology,” Zondo says, adding that while the state has not denied its liability, the negotiations have dragged on due to several police ministers being reshuffled and changes in the office of the state attorney.
“We keep having meetings where they say they are assessing our claims and they will revert. It’s all dilatory and I don’t know for what purpose except to further punish our clients for their legitimate fight for a living wage, R12,500,” lawyer for the injured and arrested workers, Andries Nkome, says.
In February, police minister Bheki Cele announced that the state has paid R176m in compensation to the families. Zondo says this figure is “obfuscating” the fact that R100m was paid to workers who were wrongfully arrested, and the balance to the relatives.
Mpofu says that the large group of arrested mineworkers received R300,000-R400,000 each, depending on the number of days they spent behind bars. The state has also conceded to the claims of three or four injured workers.
“But the people who were seriously injured, such as Mzoxolo Magidiwana, have not received a cent,” Mpofu says.
Magidiwana was shot nine times by the police and two bullets remain lodged in his body. He had to rely on crutches for several years.
The Lonmin mineworkers and the families are also concerned that a key recommendation for changes to public order policing has been delayed. The SAPS is also getting accused of brutality, as in the case with Mthokozisi Ntumba, a bystander killed during student protests in Braamfontein in March.
Later that month, Cele released the findings of the Farlam-recommended panel of experts, two and a half years after they had handed him their report on crowd management.
Promised visit
Many of the mineworkers and families want to institute a review of the Farlam report, maintaining that it should not have exonerated politicians. They are planning to use some of their compensation from the state to fund the complex legal proceedings and they are worried that by the time they are paid, potential witnesses will have forgotten the events of the deadly wage strike or would be unwilling to testify.
Aside from the Farlam commission’s recommendations, Ramaphosa promised to visit Marikana in April 2018 and has not yet fulfilled this promise.
The Farlam commission, like that on state capture, produced shocking evidence that kept the nation glued to its TV screens and created hope for justice and accountability. Almost nine years later, the recommendations have been implemented at a snail’s pace and victims are still waiting for answers.
Presidency spokesperson Tyrone Seale said that work by the state capture commission is under way and progress on timelines and implementation should be assessed after the recommendations have been made.
He added that Ramaphosa is working on meeting the Marikana community.
The office of the state attorney did not respond to calls and SMS requests for comment.
• Niselow is a freelance journalist based in Johannesburg.
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