Farlam commission – praag.org

Advocate objects to Afrikaans testimony at Marikana hearing

Some families of deceased Marikana mineworkers were prejudiced at the Farlam Commission of Inquiry as they did not understand Afrikaans, a lawyer said on Friday.

Dumisa Ntsebeza SC, for the families, brought the complaint shortly after the inquiry resumed its public hearings on Friday.

It was prompted by the fact that police Brigadier Adriaan Calitz testified exclusively in Afrikaans.

“I did not have a problem with translation… I have been approached by the families from Lesotho, who are saying ‘because the Brigadier is insisting on speaking in Afrikaans, which apparently is his Constitutional right, Sesotho has been eliminated completely,” Ntsebeza said.

“There are three channels [of translation used at the commission] and the Brigadier is speaking in Afrikaans, then there is a translation to English and another translation from English to IsiXhosa.”

Some of the families had been prejudiced, contended Ntsebeza, saying five families had raised the complaint.

Commission chairman, retired judge Ian Farlam, then translated Calitz’s brief testimony.

“He was telling us about the experience he has had, which he referred to yesterday about a riotous incident. He particularly told us about an incident in May last year when there was a strike and there was disorder,” Farlam said.

“Police ran out of bullets in the incident.”

Farlam said perhaps arrangements would be made to cater for the Sotho-speaking families next week.

“We will see what we can do, if it’s possible to do something. [We may] provide for a third translation service just for those five people, I am not sure whether we can do that,” he said.

“We may have to resort to translating the transcript to them when it becomes available.”

Head of the evidence leaders, Geoff Budlender, said translators at the commission had complained that Calitz, apart from answering quickly to the questions, also spoke too quickly.

On Friday, some people in the auditorium were dressed in Julius Malema’s Economic Freedom Fighters party regalia.

In May, the commission heard that Calitz gave the order for police to “engage” the striking Marikana miners in August last year.

A video clip taken from a helicopter that Calitz was in during the police’s dispersal operation at Marikana was played for the commission.

“Get out there and engage,” Calitz is heard saying on the clip.

Calitz was one of the commanders assigned to the Marikana operation.

Another police officer, Maj-Gen Charl Annandale, who was under cross-examination at the time, confirmed Calitz’s voice was audible in the clip.

“That was Papa one, Brigadier Calitz,” said Annandale.

Annandale headed the police tactical response team during the wage-related unrest at Lonmin’s platinum mining operations at Marikana, near Rustenburg in North West last year. He said he was at the joint operations centre listening to the police radio when the instruction was given.

The three-member commission is holding public hearings in Centurion. The other commissioners are senior advocates Bantubonke Tokota and Pingla Hemraj.

Thirty-four people, mostly striking miners, were shot dead on August 16, 2012 and 78 were wounded when police fired on them while trying to disperse and disarm a group which had gathered on a hill near the mine.

In the preceding week, 10 people, including two policeman and two security guards, were hacked to death near the mine.

President Jacob Zuma appointed the commission in August last year. – Sapa

Trust for Marikana victims

A trust is being set up for victims of strike-related violence in Marikana last year, a group calling itself Citizens4Marikana said on Tuesday.

“We are in the process of forming a trust for the benefit of the persons identified by the Farlam Commission [of Inquiry] as victims of the Marikana massacre, and their families,” it said in a statement.

“The aim of the trust will be to benefit the named beneficiaries in whatever way the trustees deem most appropriate… Right now that could be by providing finance for legal fees.”

In the long term, this could be used for education scholarships.

“Ultimately, how funds are spent will be determined by the trustees and we will be responsible only for raising those funds.”

The group was started on Twitter following comments about the August 16 shooting last year that left 44 people dead at Lonmin’s platinum mine in Marikana.

“Our mission is to ensure that the truth of the events at Marikana are revealed and that the victims, and their families, achieve justice,” it said.

“While we recognise the importance of the Farlam Commission, justice cannot be found… unless real recompense is made to the people most intimately affected.”

On June 21, Dali Mpofu, for the miners, told the commission that due to financial constraints, it could be his last day representing the miners. He brought an application in the High Court in Pretoria several weeks ago seeking funding, but this was dismissed. Mpofu then took the State to the Constitutional Court, asking that it pay for his legal team. The application was dismissed on Monday.

On its website, Citizens4Marikana state that Nkome Attorneys, based in Pretoria, were appointed to temporarily collect donations.

Citizens4Marikana is as a social media movement started by a group of people moved by the violence at Marikana. There was nothing political behind it, said representative Kay Sexwale, former radio presenter and niece of former human settlements minister Tokyo Sexwale.

“We are just outraged at the Marikana massacre and we feel that something has to be done,” she said.

“Nothing is cast in stone. We are not trying to steal anyone’s money. We are just collecting money for those families affected. It is about the 44 people who died in August last year.”

Citizens4Marikana was started by “random people” on social media network Twitter, including Sexwale, UN secretary general at the G8 and G20 Youth Summits in 2012 Erik De Ridder, photojournalist Greg Marinovich, and Nomboniso Gasa, who describes herself as a researcher, analyst, and public speaker. – Sapa

Marikana dead to be remembered

African cleansing ceremony at the site of the Marikana killings

The first anniversary of the shooting at Lonmin’s Marikana mine, near Rustenburg in the North West, will be marked during a commemorative rally on Friday.

On August 10 last year, Lonmin rockdrillers embarked on an unprotected strike for a monthly salary of R12,500.

More workers joined the strike and the protesters gathered at a hill near Nkaneng informal settlement carrying weapons, such as pangas, spears, knobkerries, and iron rods.

On August 16 last year, police trying to disperse and disarm them opened fire on the mineworkers, killing 34 of them.

Ten people, including two policemen and two security guards, were killed in strike-related violence the preceding week.

Several violent deaths in the area following the Lonmin strike have been blamed on rivalry between the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) and the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM).

The Congress of SA Trade Unions, to which NUM is affiliated, said that there had been “overwhelming concern” in the wake of the Marikana shooting that such killings should never again happen in democratic South Africa.

“Tragically however, one year later, we cannot say that there have been no further deaths,” spokesman Patrick Craven said in a statement on Thursday.

Social problems, poverty and lack of transformation still affected the lives of mining communities.

A framework agreement for a sustainable mining industry, signed by government, employers and most unions, needed to be fulfilled in order to prevent a repetition of the Marikana tragedy, Craven said.

He said the union federation was “bitterly disappointed” at the procedural arguments stalling the work of the Farlam Commission.

President Jacob Zuma appointed the commission to probe circumstances around the August 16 shooting.

On Friday, the Constitutional Court is expected to rule whether the State should pay the legal costs for the miners arrested and injured at Marikana.

In June Dali Mpofu, for the miners, told the commission that due to financial constraints his team could be forced to withdraw from the inquiry.

He previously brought an urgent court application in the High Court in Pretoria several weeks ago seeking funding, but this was dismissed.

The commission has been postponed several times while solutions to the funding problems were sought.

Amnesty International’s Africa spokesman Noel Kututwa said on Thursday that the organisation was concerned that the Farlam Commission was in crisis.

“The long-term consequences for the respect and protection of human rights in South Africa will be severe should the South African authorities fail in taking all necessary steps to achieve accountability for what happened in Marikana on 16 August 2012.”

The SA Communist Party called for the speedy conclusion of the Farlam Commission’s work.

“The SACP hopes that the commission will also attend to the broader systemic, underlying issues around the mining areas and the mining industry.”

The SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) said it was concerned about continuing violence and killings in the Marikana area.

“The SAHRC recognises the urgent need for an understanding of all of the causes and reasons for these deaths, and what can be done to improve the material conditions of the people of Marikana, and hold those responsible accountable.”

Agang SA leader Mamphela Ramphele said: “As we honour all those who died at Marikana, we must encourage a spirit of reconciliation backed by practical steps so that all concerned parties can work together to finally bring peace to Marikana”.

The CCMA said its offices would observe a minute of silence at noon on Friday as a mark of respect for those killed at Marikana.

The CCMA committed itself to working tirelessly in efforts to prevent a repetition of the events of August 16 last year. It also acknowledged the work of its members in relation to the Marikana labour disputes.

Council for the Advancement of the SA Constitution chairman Sipho Pityana said police needed to heed lessons learnt from the Marikana shooting.

“The continued brutality of the police, and their inadequacies in policing protests, shows how urgent it is that reforms are introduced to protect the human rights of everyone who lives in South Africa.”

National police commissioner Riah Phiyega called for peace at Friday’s commemorative events.

“We wish to appeal to everyone who will be in attendance to conduct themselves appropriately and to co-operate with the event organisers, marshals and the police,” she said on Thursday.

“Most importantly, we plead with them to not carry dangerous weapons including knives, knobkerries, firearms or any other dangerous weapons.”

NUM and the African National Congress in the North West signalled on Thursday that they would not be attending the commemorations.

NUM spokesman Lesiba Seshoka said the decision was based on the fact that the events were organised by the Marikana Support Group, rather than deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe’s office.

NUM initially welcomed Amcu’s invitation to its president Senzeni Zokwana to attend the commemoration. Zokwana had been asked to share the stage with Amcu president Joseph Mathunjwa in an attempt to ease tensions in the platinum belt.

Lonmin signed an agreement with Amcu this week, recognising it as the company’s majority trade union. The agreement set a threshold of a 30 percent membership for any trade union to be recognised by the company.

Membership of the NUM, which used to be the majority union, has dropped to 20 percent of Lonmin’s workforce.

ANC provincial spokesman Kenny Morolong said: “The commemoration is organised by an illegitimate team called ‘Marikana support group’ — a group which the ANC does not recognise”.

The ANC would only participate in a commemoration organised by government, as agreed with families, Lonmin Platinum and labour unions, he said. – Sapa

Marikana miners sprinkled muti against police

Police officers knew a substance thought to be muti was given to striking Marikana mineworkers, the Farlam commission of inquiry has heard.

Commission chairperson, retired judge Ian Farlam, questioned Major General Charl Annandale on whether they knew protesters believed the muti they had administered would make them invincible and invisible.

“They believed that the bullets would bounce off them. They had no fear and believed that the police’s R-5’s would have no effect on them,” Farlam said.

“Did you take that into consideration when you drafted your [dispersal and disarming] plan?” he asked.

Annandale, who headed the police special tactical operations team during the unrest in Marikana, was giving his evidence-in-chief at the commission in Rustenburg.

He said they were aware rituals had been performed on the miners, but did not get information about the supposed effect of the substances.

A white Toyota bakkie laden with buckets had been driven up to the koppie where miners were gathered in the days prior to August 16, when police fired on the strikers.

A traditional healer was seen sprinkling the substance in the buckets on a group of naked men, said Annandale. Police took pictures of this from a helicopter.

The commission is investigating the deaths of 44 people during the wage-related unrest in Marikana last year. Police shot dead 34 mineworkers on August 16. Another 10 people were killed in the preceding week. – Sapa

Crime scene tampering at Marikana: Commissioner knew

National police commissioner Riah Phiyega knew there was evidence to suggest that one of the crime scenes where 34 protesters were shot dead by police on August 16 had been tampered with, the Farlam Commission of Inquiry heard on Monday.

Ismael Semenya for the police said: “The national commissioner has instituted an investigation.”

He said the matter came to Phiyega’s attention two weeks ago and that she immediately launched a probe to establish what had happenened.

Semenya said this after it became apparent that photographs taken on the night of August 16 showed more traditional weapons around the bodies of the slain miners than photographs taken earlier that day.

Evidence leader Mbuyisela Madlanga was cross-examining crime scene expert Captain Apollo Mohlaki when it became clear that scene two, in the vicinity of a koppie near Lonmin’s Marikana mine in Rustenburg, had been altered between the times when the pictures were taken.

Madlanga showed Mohlaki three photographs of each of three bodies.

Two were taken in daylight and one by electric light after dark. Mohlaki took the night pictures and admitted his photographs showed more weapons around the bodies than those taken earlier.

Referring to the night-time photograph of the corpse of Henry Mvuyisi Pato, Madlanga asked whether Mohlaki could see a butcher’s knife and an iron rod.

“That weapon is underneath the hand or arm of the deceased?”

Drawing attention to the photographs of the same body taken in daylight, Madlanga asked: “Quite plainly, that butcher’s knife is not there?”.

“It is not appearing, I don’t see it,” Mohlaki replied.

George Bizos, for the Legal Resource Centre, asked: “Who were the people who had the opportunity to really insult the administration of justice in our country?…This came as a big surprise to us.”

Commission chairman, retired judge Ian Farlam, said it came as a surprise “to all of us”.

Last week Semenya said the integrity of the crime scene could have been compromised by the presence of paramedics.

“No blame on your team, but your scene was corrupt?” he asked Mohlaki.

“We will hear evidence that paramedics asked that weapons be removed so they could do their work,” said Semenya.

Also on Monday, Dali Mpofu, the attorney for injured and arrested Lonmin miners, claimed some of the shot miners seemed to be handcuffed in a video entered as evidence.

He asked Mohlaki whether he had seen any protesters — whether dead, injured or arrested — with their hands bound behind their backs.

Mohlaki said he had not, but conceded that on a video shown to the commission it appeared to be the case.

“At the crime scene I never observed that…. I never went to individual bodies to see which one was handcuffed, which one was injured…

“If I am looking at the video there is a person, handcuffed possibly, but on the day I did not observe that.”

The video showed the dead bodies of the miners lying at unnatural angles among large rocks.

Towards the end of the video, loud laughter could be heard, but the group laughing was not visible.

Asked what police might have found so amusing at the scene of so many violent deaths, Mohlaki said: “I have no idea.”

During the afternoon session, the parties debated the usefulness of separating elements of the inquiry into phases.

Semenya objected to the fisrt phase being dominated by the policeºs conduct on August 16.

“From our perspective, it is an open secret that SAPS has been found guilty in the court of public opinion,” he said.

Semenya argued that the contributions of the National Union of Mineworkers, the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union, Lonmin, the actions of angry crowds, and preceding events needed to be taken into account to contextualise the August 16 shootings. – citizen.co.za

Miners shot in the back says lawyer

Fourteen of the 34 Lonmin platinum miners killed by the police in August were shot in the back, a judicial inquiry into the Marikana shooting heard on Monday.

“All fatal projectile wounds were sustained from the back,” advocate Dumisa Ntsebeza told the Farlam commission at the Rustenburg Civic Centre, North West.

“Those who were killed were unlawfully killed by SAPS [the SA Police Service],” he said in his opening remarks.

On 16 August the police opened fire while trying to disperse a group of striking mineworkers encamped on a hill in Nkaneng, killing 34 and wounding 78.

The workers had been carrying knobkerries, pangas, sticks, and iron rods.

The miners went on strike on 10 August, demanding a monthly salary of R12 500. Within four days, 10 people had been killed, two of them policemen and two of them security guards.

Ntsebeza represents the Eastern Cape families of 20 of the men who died.

The family members, many of the women wearing black and blue mourning clothes, sat in the first two front rows of the auditorium at the hearing.

Ntsebeza said the police had claimed the mineworkers charged at officers because they had taken muti (traditional medicine) which made them feel invincible. This was the police’s justification for killing them.

“For us, the subtext of this justification… is that the miners, according to them [police], acted like possessed men, that they had to be destroyed like vermin and that they were destroyed like vermin,” he said.

“Whatever the truth of that tragic day, it cannot be that the SAPS could not have acted differently. [They] could and should have brought the gathering to an end peacefully and without loss of life,” Ntsebeza said.

He said his team would contend that every step the police took leading up to 16 August, and on the day itself, made the workers’ deaths foreseeable and inevitable.

Ntsebeza agreed it was the police’s job to disarm people and disperse gatherings, and that the way they had done so in Marikana was not legitimate.

“The manner and timing… invited injury and death as well.”

He said the police’s decision to send National Union of Mineworkers and Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union officials to discuss the striking workers’ demands was not the correct one.

“SAPS officers on the scene must have known workers were not under the control of the unions… This was a public order issue, not a labour issue,” said Ntsebeza.

It appeared the police had not given the mineworkers an official order to disperse, but rather an ultimatum, and had encircled and entrapped the protesters with barbed wire.

“Blocking the miners’ dispersal route to Nkaneng informal settlement… [they] had no choice but to move in numbers towards police with nowhere else to go,” he said.

“Some of these miners were shot in the back and the back of the head while trying to get away.”

Ntsebeza said the police’s response to the protest was aggressive, misguided, disproportionate, unreasonable, and unlawful. – Sapa