South African police ‘lied over shootings’ in Marikana mine

Cecilia Jamasmie | September 19, 2013 | 5:56 pm Base Metals Africa Europe Platinum 
South African ex-union official shot dead in Marikana

A commission of inquiry has accused South African police of lying about the tragic incident that cost the lives of 34 striking miners shot and killed at platinum miner Lonmin’s (LON:JSE) Marikana mine, in August last year.

In a statement released Thursday, the commission said it has discovered that police falsified or withheld documents and gave false accounts of events.

Officers had said most of the miners died when they opened fire as the strikers charged them. But witnesses and journalists have questioned the police’s account ever since.

At one point prosecutors tried blaming the surviving miners with the deaths of their colleagues, which has been qualified as the most deadly action by police since the end of apartheid in 1994.

Appointed by South African President Jacob Zuma last year to investigate the deaths of the 34 miners, the Marikana commission obtained access to police hard drives and previously concealed police documents only 10 days ago.

“We have maintained documents which the SAPS (South African Police Services) said were not in existence…”We have obtained documents which in our opinion demonstrate that the [police] version of at Marikana…is in material respects not the truth,” the commission said.

The group is reviewing the “thousands of pages” of documents found, and it is also seeking to obtain access to additional hard drives and electronic records.

Not a single police officer has been arrested in connection with the event.

Image by Wall Street Journal Digital Network, via You Tube

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9 Comments

  • methods3110

    What did you expect? Arresting a police officer! However, it’s exactly the same even in ‘civilized’ countries. The police are a law unto themselves and make a mockery of democracy.

  • robin

    yipp, they post the picture with the white man in it (with the gun). So, I suppose it the Whiteman’s fault again!! They are maybe 10% of the workforce today, but they will be highlighted in as the culprits (shooters).

    • djvol

      Not once was racism brought into this incident apart from racist comments posted on reports. The photo will only be viewed as racially motivated by people that have not seen the facts or other videos/photos showing what happened. Get over your self pity

  • Michael

    I saw the news video. Miners were not “charging” the police. What I saw was a group execution. PERIOD.

  • Danny

    What I find farcical is that Zuma called for an investigation and subsequent uncovering of sensitive documents and info on hard drives – but when Zuma was under investigation for fraud assocoated with arms deals and R76Bn worth of public money the documents requested miraculously were ‘not allowed’ or had disappeared – documents which would almost certainly have lead to his demise before becoming president

  • djvol

    This commission will probably give the politically safe verdict. “The police went to Marikana with the intent of shooting, maiming and killing innocent people having a peaceful discussion of their overzealous demands.”
    Why be bothered with the truth – it only gets in the way of a very good fairy tale.

  • djvol

    This bulletin concentrates on only a minute part of the entire investigation giving a distorted version of what happens. Just posting one-sided extracts without the replies given during the investigation is sensation seeking which is covered by tabloids. Please do not let this site fall into that trap

  • Phil

    Shocking choice of photo given the racial profile of the vast majority of the police who did the firing. Perhaps it sells more papers, etc.

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