President Cyril Ramaphosa has welcomed a court docket ruling relating to the Marikana massacre, however slammed the “politicisation” of the 2012 tragedy.
Police on 16 August 2012 gunned down 34 placing miners and about 280 employees have been arrested on the Lonmin platinum mine in Marikana, North West.
The protesting employees have been demanding a wage of R12,500 and higher dwelling circumstances.
In 2015, Vayeka Sivuka – who was accused primary amongst these arrested – and 328 different mineworkers then approached the Johannesburg High Court asking that Ramaphosa and Lonmin be held answerable for the actions of the police and in addition sought compensation.
Ramaphosa on the time was a shareholder and non-executive board member at Lonmin, which was later acquired by Sibanye Stillwater.
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The excessive court docket delivered its ruling on Friday, with the total bench upholding 4 of Ramaphosa’s exceptions, however rejected one.
Judge Frits van Oosten discovered that the president had taken half in, deliberate and endorsed the cooperation between Lonmin and the police, which had culminated within the deaths, accidents, arrests and detention of the placing mineworkers.
“I agree, and it is accordingly my finding, that the plaintiffs have satisfied the test of legal causation,” Van Oosten dominated.
According to City Press, the judgment permits the surviving mineworkers to carry Ramaphosa personally answerable for what they suffered.
‘Unfair targeting’
Ramaphosa has since reacted to the judgment, with the Presidency dismissing the suggestion that the president was answerable for the Marikana massacre.
“Disturbingly, is the continued politicisation of this tragedy resulting in the unfair concentrating on and remoted allocation of accountability to the President.
“Others have sought to create a false impression that President Ramaphosa bears liability for the killings,” Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya stated in a statement.
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Magwenya additionally stated the court docket agreed with Ramaphosa’s arguments and “held that the plaintiffs had not established that the president bore any legal duty”.
“Furthermore, the court made no finding that the President was in fact the cause of harmful conduct. The proceedings were not a trial, and no evidence was led. The court was merely engaged in a legal debate regarding whether the plaintiffs’ allegations complied with the law,” he stated.
“The court rejected the plaintiff’s argument that certain email communications from President Ramaphosa sought to call for the murder of the striking workers,” Magwenya added.
Ramaphosa’s electronic mail – dated 15 August 2012 – read: “The horrible occasions which have unfolded can’t be described as a labour dispute. They are plainly dastardly felony and have to be characterised as such. In line with this characterisation, there must be concomitant motion to deal with this example.
“You are absolutely correct in insisting that the Minister and indeed all government officials need to understand that we are essentially dealing with a criminal act. I have said as much to the Minister of Safety and Security.”
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Meanwhile, Magwenya stated the court docket additionally agreed with Ramaphosa that “there was no factual basis for the allegation that collusion between the president, the government and senior police officers would have led to the deaths of workers”.
“On the allegations that the President Ramaphosa owed a duty of care to the plaintiffs due to his role as director of Lonmin, the high court agreed with the President that the allegation was incorrect as a matter of law,” the Presidency spokesperson concluded.
