125-650: 12–14 August: 6 mineworkers dead 16 August: 34 mineworkers dead (78 mineworkers injured) The Marikana massacre was the killing of thirty-four miners by the South African Police Service (SAPS) on 16 August 2012 during a six-week wildcat strike at the Lonmin platinum mine at Marikana near Rustenburg in South Africa's North West province . The massacre constituted the most lethal use of force by South African security forces against civilians since
250-403: A kraal at the base of the koppie ; some of them still carried sharp weapons. Shortly thereafter, the public-order policing unit initiated the use of non-lethal force, firing three stun grenades, eight teargas canisters, and two water cannons . This fragmented the group of advancing mineworkers, changing the course of most of them, but a group of 11 or 12 mineworkers continued to advance around
375-469: A pistol and the two others with R5 assault rifles ) fired at least 37 rounds between them. Two warrant officers, Hendrick Monene and Sello Lepaaku, were killed, as were three mineworkers on or near the scene: Phumzile Sokhanyile, Semi Jokanisi, and Thembelakhe Mati. Another officer was critically injured and was airlifted to hospital. According to the Guardian , on the night of 13 August, police officers across
500-405: A "security risk zone". The operational command had agreed to launch the operation at 3.30 p.m., but it was delayed by a final visit to the koppie by Amcu's president Mathunjwa. At a press briefing the following day, Mathunjwa cried as he recounted his attempt to persuade the occupying miners to disperse: "I pleaded with them: 'The writing is on the wall, they are going to kill you'". Video footage
625-637: A R5,000 bribe. On 28 December 2020, three law enforcement officers who were employed by the Emalahleni Municipality were arrested in Mpumalanga on corruption and bribery charges which involved allegations of not issuing standard fines to motorists who committed traffic violations, but instead extorting them for bribes. In 2022, two criminal charges were lodged by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate against
750-421: A Vektor Z88 9mm pistol and pepper spray . Each patrol car is usually also equipped a R5 rifle . To quell disturbances a variety of firearms are used, including BXP sub-machine gun, Musler 12 gauge shotgun (capable of firing anti-riot rubber bullets contained in standard 12 bore shotgun cartridges), as well as tear gas and pencil flares. The R1 rifle has been withdrawn from all front-line police armories since
875-404: A chance to disperse, SAPS assembled around the koppie , with the difference from previous days consisting primarily in the fact that their armoured vehicles – several Nyalas pre-positioned around the koppie – pulled trailers full of barbed wire . The barbed wire was intended to be uncoiled discreetly at a later moment to prevent strikers from dispersing into police lines and attacking them, but
1000-451: A criminal act". In May 2017, Ramaphosa – by then Deputy President of South Africa – apologised for the phrasing of the emails. On the morning of 16 August, the SAPS operational command held a meeting at which they referred to the day ahead as " D-Day ", suggesting that they were prepared to enforce the so-called tactical option. At 9.30 a.m., Mbombo held a press conference in which she announced
1125-602: A group of rock drill operators from various Lonmin mines had a mass meeting at which they agreed on their demand for a significant salary increase, though the NUM leaders present at the meeting refused to support the demand. The following day was a public holiday, Women's Day , and another rock drillers' meeting was held at the Lonmin-owned football stadium which bordered the workers' accommodation in Wonderkop ; attendees agreed to approach
1250-493: A marked escalation in the violence. Despite conflicting reports at the time and in the following months, subsequent investigation suggested that at least ten people were killed at Marikana between 12 and 14 August: three mineworkers and two policemen in a single altercation; and, in other confrontations, an additional three Lonmin mine employees and two Lonmin security officials. On 12 August, there were at least three violent confrontations between strikers and Lonmin security. First,
1375-414: A memorandum to their NUM branch leaders (who are elected representatives, senior to shop stewards , paid a bonus by the mine for their union work). The memorandum formally requested that the NUM should represent the strikers in their demand for a R12,500 wage. However, according to strikers and other witnesses, once the march was about 100 or 150 metres away from the NUM office, somewhere in the vicinity of
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#17328450036921500-412: A mineworker in this group fired at least one pistol shot as the group advanced, as shown in video footage and witnessed by a Reuters photographer. Within ten seconds, 47 Tactical Response Team members opened fire with their R5 assault rifles, as did one public-order policing officer. Legal representatives for the strikers argued that the officers had opened fire as a result of an order, seconds earlier, by
1625-448: A mineworkers' hostel, where two Lonmin security officers – Hassan Fundi and Frans Mabelane – were killed, presumably by strikers. And a third took place at the K4 shaft of Marikana mine, where workers attempting to enter the mine to work were assaulted and seriously injured, and one worker, Thapelo Eric Mabebe, was killed. Several vehicles were also burned. The official investigation later condemned
1750-427: A morning radio programme broadcast on SAFM shortly after the 8 a.m. news. At the end of the programme, Zokwana and Mathunjwa agreed to go together to Marikana to speak to the strikers and urge them to return to work. Both union leaders addressed the crowd on the koppie through loudspeakers, from inside armoured vehicles – in a video, Mathunjwa is seen objecting to this arrangement, saying "These are people and we are
1875-482: A retired SAPS Lieutenant General. On 12 October 2020, Lieutenant-General Bonang Mgwenya , the country's second-most senior police official, was arrested on charges of corruption, fraud, theft and money laundering involving about R200-million and afterwards appeared in Ridge Magistrates court. At the time of Mgwenya's arrest, she and Phahlane were among 14 fellow officers who were charged with corruption. Mgwenya
2000-522: A scuffle broke out. The Guardian implied that Mbembe appeared, in the video, to change his mind after taking a phone call; while Mbembe himself testified that the strikers had charged the police, though further video footage later emerged which appeared to contradict this. In the ensuing chaos, at least one tear gas canister and one stun grenade were fired by police, although there is dispute as to whether Mbembe had ordered this action. According to police records, at least three police officers (one wielding
2125-459: A scuffle ensued during a march of strikers from the koppie to the Lonmin management office, apparently precipitated by a rock thrown at security officers by one striker and inflamed when the security officers opened fire with rubber bullets. Many of the strikers were, by this point, armed, including with pangas , and security officers were injured during their retreat. A second confrontation occurred at
2250-583: A senior SAPU policeman from the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Anti-Corruption Unit, was arrested, and then released on bail, on a bribe charge. Ntsime criticised the arrest, stating Singh was at the forefront of arresting crooked police officers and was onto a big syndicate. Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks) spokesperson, Captain Simphiwe Mhlongo, said that undercover Hawks officers caught Singh red-handed accepting
2375-434: A single confrontation on 13 August. In addition, two Lonmin security officers were killed on 12 August, and three other Lonmin mine employees were killed in isolated incidents for which strikers are presumed to be responsible. Failed attempts to negotiate a peaceful resolution were launched by SAPS and the leadership of both Amcu and the NUM. The massacre on 16 August was the result of the decision by SAPS forcibly to disperse
2500-474: A single location around the main koppie . On 16 August, as the media began to report that the police had opened fire on strikers, the Ministry of Police acknowledged that there had been deaths but defended the police's actions, writing, "To protest is a legal and constitutional right of any citizen. However, these rights do not imply that people should be barbaric, intimidating and hold illegal gatherings. We had
2625-632: A situation where people who were armed to the teeth attacked and killed other." President Jacob Zuma – who at the time was in Maputo, Mozambique , attending a summit of the Southern African Development Community – condemned the killings but made no reference to the actions of the police, saying in a statement: We are shocked and dismayed at this senseless violence. We believe there is enough space in our democratic order for any dispute to be resolved through dialogue without any breaches of
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#17328450036922750-416: A tactical phase." To other journalists he said: We have tried over a number of days to negotiate with the leaders and with the gathering here at the mine, our objective is to get the people to surrender their weapons and to disperse peacefully. Today is D-day in terms of if they don't comply then we will have to act... we will have to take steps. Proceeding with the plan to encircle the miners and offer them
2875-477: A union. We are not afraid of them, we have done nothing wrong". The strikers refused to listen to Zokwana – who later said that the strikers did not trust the NUM and would never have wanted its involvement in negotiations – but Mathunjwa was able to address them. However, according to the Daily Maverick , Mathunjwa's attempts to mediate between the strikers and management were stymied by the refusal of Lonmin and
3000-461: A warrant. This search-and-seize zone was extended to within eight miles of any border in 1979 and to the entire country in 1983. The new Minister of Safety and Security, Sydney Mufamadi , obtained police training assistance from Zimbabwe , the United Kingdom , and Canada and proclaimed that racial tolerance and human rights would be central to police training in the future. By the end of 1995,
3125-488: Is 78. The Lonmin strike ended on 18 September, when a collective wage agreement was signed which secured an average wage increase of 11 to 22 per cent for Lonmin mineworkers; after six weeks, the strikers returned to work on 20 September. In the interim, however, similar wildcat strikes, often with identical wage demands and sometimes leading to further violent clashes, were initiated at other mines across South Africa . This wave of strikes led President Jacob Zuma to deploy
3250-581: Is becoming the order of the day for some of our police officers and experts warn that the line between criminals and our law enforcement officers is "blurred"." In February 2013, police in Daveyton , Gauteng were caught on video brutalising Mido Macia , a Mozambican taxi driver accused of parking illegally. Macia was handcuffed to a police van and dragged through the streets, later succumbing to his injuries. Eight police officers were arrested and later convicted of murder. Three police officers were arrested for
3375-448: Is generally accepted that a small group of some 100 to 200 strikers had marched from the koppie towards the K3 shaft, where they had heard that some employees were still at work. Once informed by Lonmin security that the shaft was empty, the strikers turned back to the koppie , but were intercepted, near the railway line , by a police contingent. Video footage shows Major-General William Mpembe,
3500-550: Is on the most commonly used armoured vehicle of the service. The Casspir Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle is another notable vehicle used by the police. As of October 2023 , with the arrival of a new helicopter, the SAPS Air Wing operates a fleet of 34 aeroplanes and helicopters. The Air Wing has about 50 pilots and 300 other personnel. The SAPS Air Wing fleet consists of: Airplanes Helicopters South African Police Service officers generally carry
3625-639: Is the country's deadliest incident between police and the civilian population since the Sharpeville Massacre of 1960, and has been referred to as a turning-point in post-1994 South Africa. On 10 September 2007 an arrest warrant was issued by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) for National Police Commissioner Jackie Selebi ( Interpol president from 2004 to 2008). On 23 September 2007, President Mbeki suspended NPA Head Vusi Pikoli, allegedly because of "an irretrievable breakdown" in
3750-637: Is the national police force of the Republic of South Africa . Its 1,154 police stations in South Africa are divided according to the provincial borders , and a Provincial Commissioner is appointed in each province. The nine Provincial Commissioners report directly to the National Commissioner . The head office is in the Wachthuis Building in Pretoria . The Constitution of South Africa lays down that
3875-816: The Cape Province in 1655 to protect civilians and to maintain law and order. In 1795, British officials assumed control over the Dutch Watch, and in 1825 established the Cape Constabulary (which became the Cape Town Police Force in 1840). In 1854, a police force was established in Durban which would become the Durban Borough Police, and in 1935 the Durban City Police (DCP). Act 3 of 1855 established
Marikana massacre - Misplaced Pages Continue
4000-662: The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), which in turn was allied with South Africa's ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), and has contributed many of the ANC's senior leaders. According to the Guardian , the NUM's popularity had begun to decline under general secretary Frans Baleni , partly because of the NUM's perceived closeness to government and to management, which in some cases led members to believe that
4125-507: The Daily Maverick concluded that "heavily armed police hunted down and killed the miners in cold blood" at scene two. The events at scene two were especially difficult to reconstruct because no crime scene photographs were taken and the crime scene was not adequately preserved. In particular, one warrant officer testified to having removed weapons from the persons and vicinity of injured and dead mineworkers, on his own initiative and without recording where he had found them. He then replaced
4250-552: The Soweto uprising in 1976 and has been compared to the 1960 Sharpeville massacre . The massacre occurred on the seventh day of an illegal wildcat strike at the mine: although the initial strikers were primarily rock drill operators belonging to the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), the strike action was launched without NUM endorsement. The strikers sought a sizeable wage increase, to R 12,500 monthly, to be negotiated outside
4375-434: The kraal and in doing so came within 20 metres of a line of Tactical Response Team members. SAPS contended that this group intended to attack the police and drive them away from the koppie . Representatives of the strikers pointed out that the group was proceeding along a path which led to the neighbouring Nkaneng informal settlement and contended that they intended only to leave the koppie for Nkaneng. At about 3.54 p.m.,
4500-592: The Detective Service, and from June 2008 to the Criminal Record and Forensic Science Service (CRFSS). At that time, it comprised only three members at national head office level, led by Gerard Labuschagne. South African Police Service headquarters in located in Pretoria. As of March 2023 , there were three Deputy National Commissioners, with each of these split into divisions as follows: A new ranking system of
4625-792: The Frontier Armed and Mounted Police Force in the Eastern Cape , restyled as the Cape Mounted Riflemen in 1878. The South African Police (SAP) was created after the establishment of the Union of South Africa in 1913. Four years later, the Mounted Riflemen's Association relinquished its civilian responsibilities to the SAP as most of its riflemen left to serve in the First World War . The SAP and
4750-410: The K4 incident as "an unprovoked attack on unarmed persons... to enforce the strike with intimidation". Another mineworker, Julius Langa, was stabbed to death in the early hours of 13 August, again presumably by strikers. On the day of 13 August, the first bloody confrontation between strikers and police occurred, though, despite police video of the incident, the exact course of events is not clear. It
4875-454: The Lonmin management directly, as the NUM refused to represent them. On 10 August, workers at the Marikana mine assembled and marched ( toyi-toyi ' d) to the offices of Lonmin management. Lonmin refused to meet with them, instructing them to consult with their NUM leadership, and, in response, 3,000 workers walked off the job. This initiated an illegal wildcat strike , designed to achieve
5000-463: The Marikana strikers that the R12,500 wage was attainable – and thus, in the Guardian 's phrase, had "dangled a fat piece of fruit in front of the workers' eyes". Amcu president Mathunjwa confirmed that the strike was a response to poor pay: "As long as bosses and senior management are getting fat cheques, that's good for them. And these workers are subjected to poverty for life." However, on 17 August – after
5125-573: The NUM mainstream. In January and February 2012, a six-week strike at the Impala Platinum mine in Rustenberg, North West Province turned acrimonious when the NUM accused Amcu of fuelling the strike to gain members; four people died in the ensuing violence. The strike which occasioned the massacre was held at the Marikana mine, a platinum mine at Marikana, Rustenberg , not far from the Impala mine where
Marikana massacre - Misplaced Pages Continue
5250-493: The NUM opened fire on the strikers as they marched towards the NUM's office; two wounded strikers were wrongly reported killed, vastly heightening tensions. Between 12 August and 14 August, violence escalated among the strikers, the SAPS, and private security officers employed by Lonmin. During this period, as the strikers armed themselves and additional police forces were deployed to Marika, ten people were killed. Five of them – three strikers and two SAPS members – were killed in
5375-413: The NUM representatives had heard a rumour that the protestors intended to set alight the NUM office, and therefore believed themselves to be acting in self-defence . This account was contradicted by strikers, who claimed that they had armed themselves, precisely for the purpose of self-defence, only after the confrontation at the NUM offices. There was also some confusion about casualties incurred during
5500-619: The NUM's response to the protest and by what they viewed as NUM collusion with Lonmin. Sources also told the Guardian that attendees at the afternoon gathering collected cash to enlist a sangoma , a traditional healer, to protect them from violence. Over the next few days, SAPS drastically increased its presence in Marikana, deploying additional members from other provinces . According to SAPS figures, there were 209 SAPS members at Marikana on 13 August; this increased to 532 members on 14 August, 689 members on 15 August, and, finally, 718 members on 16 August. The additional deployments accompanied
5625-405: The NUM. The group's leader beseeched the police, "Please open the way for us. That's the only thing we are asking for. We are not fighting with anyone. We just want to go to the koppie." The strikers and police then reached an agreement that the police would escort the strikers to the koppie, where they would hand over their weapons. However, moments later – shortly after the police video cut out –
5750-550: The National Police Commissioner Khehla Sitole for refusing to cooperate with its investigation into the murder of Charl Kinnear . Kinnear was a police intelligence officer investigating organised crime within the SAPS. Police units earned battle honours in both world wars and in border wars with Rhodesia . [[Category:Arrests Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU)
5875-476: The SAPS had incorporated the ten police agencies of the former homelands , and had reorganised at both national and provincial level. The Investigative Psychology Unit (IPU), also referred to as Investigative Psychology Section (IPS), was founded by forensic psychologist Micki Pistorius in 1996. Elmarie Myburgh was a founding member It was then a division of the Serious and Violent Crimes Unit, later being moved to
6000-521: The South African Police Service has a responsibility to prevent, combat and investigate crime, maintain public order, protect and secure the inhabitants of the Republic and their property, uphold and enforce the law, create a safe and secure environment for all people in South Africa, prevent anything that may threaten the safety or security of any community, investigate any crimes that threaten
6125-559: The South African Police Service was adopted in April 2010. The change caused some controversy as new ranks like "general" and "colonel" have a military connotation. Furthermore, the new rank system mirrors the system used by the South African Police during the apartheid era. In 2009, Deputy Minister of Police Fikile Mbalula spoke of making the police a paramilitary force by changing the SAPS ranking system so that it would closely mirror
6250-644: The Wonderkop taxi rank, some 15 to 20 NUM representatives – wielding between five and 15 firearms among them – emerged from the office and opened fire on the protestors, using live ammunition and apparently without warning or provocation. In later investigations, the NUM representatives did not dispute that at least some of them had opened fire on the protestors, but they claimed that the protestors were armed with traditional weapons, threw stones and shouted threats as they approached, and provided no indication that they hoped to speak peacefully with NUM leadership. Indeed,
6375-453: The agreement. After recommendation from a board of inquiry, Zuma dismissed Cele and announced that Riah Phiyega , the first female commissioner, would replace him. In February 2018, SAPS Lieutenant-General Khomotso Phahlane, who was also former acting SAPS Commissioner, and his wife appeared in court on charges of fraud and corruption. On 30 July 2020, Phahlane was dismissed from the police after three years on suspension. The same day, he
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#17328450036926500-423: The conditions in the mines as "appalling" and said that mine owners who "make millions" had questions to answer about how they treat their workers. The International Labour Organisation agreed, saying that workers in mines such as Marikana were frequently "exposed to a variety of safety hazards: falling rocks, exposure to dust, intensive noise, fumes and high temperatures, among others". On Wednesday 8 August 2012,
6625-518: The confrontation. The Daily Maverick reported in 2012, based on interviews with sources, that two protestors – both rock drillers and NUM members – had been killed by gunfire. This claim was later repeated. However, the official investigation later found that two protestors had been shot by NUM representatives but had survived. Following the clash outside the NUM offices, the strikers dispersed and later reassembled at Lonmin's football stadium. There, they decided for their safety to move their meetings to
6750-589: The controversial shooting of Nathaniel Julies , a 16 year-old boy with down syndrome , in Eldorado Park. The Marikana Massacre , was a mass shooting that occurred when police broke up a gathering by striking Lonmin workers on a 'koppie' (hilltop) near the Nkaneng shack settlement in Marikana on 16 August 2012. 34 miners were killed and 78 miners injured, causing anger and public outcry, fueled by reports that most of
6875-497: The country circulated photographs of the brutalised bodies of the dead officers; the strikers' lawyers later claimed that the incident gave SAPS members a "revenge motive" which infected events in subsequent days. In the years after the strike, two separate murder trials began in relation to the incident: one concerning the officers' deaths and the other the mineworkers' deaths, with police officers accused, in particular, of deliberately "hunting down" and killing Sokhanyile after he fled
7000-506: The crowd from a loudspeaker, five representatives of the strikers approached his armoured vehicle in order to negotiate with the SAPS officers. They spoke in Fanagalo , with a Lonmin employee interpreting for the police. The strikers reiterated to McIntosh that the strike was about wages, that they were on the koppie because the NUM had attacked them on 10 August, and that they demanded to speak to Lonmin management. At about 5 p.m. on 14 August,
7125-422: The deaths of two Amcu members. In the telling of Amcu president Mathunjwa, the miners occupying the koppie were primarily disgruntled NUM leaders, who had lost faith in their union representatives: "It's possible that Amcu members were there but it's not Amcu that coordinated the protest on the mountain". According to Mathunjwa, he and other Amcu leaders became involved in the strike not because it had promised
7250-402: The deputy provincial police commissioner for North West province, attempting to negotiate with the strikers, who he demanded should disarm – they were carrying sticks and pangas – before being allowed to rejoin the group on the koppie . In the recorded exchange, the strikers refused to disarm, saying that their intentions were not violent but that they needed the weapons to protect themselves from
7375-606: The earlier shooting. In any event, three separate police units – the National Intervention Unit, the Tactical Response Team, and a mixed unit including the K9 – ultimately converged on the small koppie from separate directions, apparently intending to disarm and arrest strikers who had fled towards the small koppie during and after the shooting at scene one. Over the course of 11 minutes, various members of each of
7500-440: The earlier violence occurred. The mine was operated by Lonmin , the world's third-largest platinum producer. NUM's dominance in Lonmin mines had faltered in the preceding years: its membership had declined from 66 per cent of Lonmin workers to 49 per cent, and it had therefore lost its exclusive organising rights in the mines. Simultaneously, Amcu's support had shot up to roughly 20 per cent of Lonmin workers. The strike at Marikana
7625-607: The elected leadership of the shack settlement at Kennedy Road, Durban . Police officers have also been accused of excessive policing in Blikkiesdorp in Delft, Cape Town , by suppression of freedom and ordering illegal curfews. In 2011, 630 police officers from Gauteng Province were arrested for fraud and corruption, rape and murder. An April 2012 editorial in The Times opined: "It seems torture and outright violation of human rights
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#17328450036927750-467: The ends of justice. Selebi was found guilty of corruption in July 2010, but not guilty of further charges of perverting the course of justice. In February 2011 Bheki Cele was implicated in unlawful conduct and maladministration with a R500m lease agreement for the new police headquarters in Pretoria. In October 2011, President Jacob Zuma announced that Cele had been suspended pending an investigation into
7875-457: The events which she claimed demonstrated that the strikers had advanced towards the police force before the police had opened fire. However, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) announced that an investigation would be conducted to determine whether the police response had been proportionate to the threat posed by the striking miners. On 19 August, Zuma called for a national week of mourning , as an opportunity to "reflect on
8000-482: The existing collective wage agreement. Early reports, later denied, suggested that they had been encouraged in this demand by the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU), the NUM's more militant and fast-growing rival. When the NUM refused to represent their demands and Lonmin refused to meet with them, the aggrieved mineworkers launched the strike on 10 August 2012. On 11 August, senior representatives of
8125-510: The first fifteen minutes of the operation, police officers unrolled the barbed wire and one Nyala was repositioned, cutting off some strikers who had been leaving the koppie with their weapons. SAPS alleged that during this time there were several minor confrontations as groups of strikers attempted to enter the neutral zone between the police lines and the crowd of strikers, and that some strikers fired bullets at an Nyala. Subsequent evidence contradicted this but did indicate that at least one Nyala
8250-608: The following account of the events at scene two: The dispersion action had commenced at this time and the protesters were driven from their stronghold to a high bushy ground in the close vicinity. The Police members encircled the area and attempted to force the protesters out by means of water cannons, rubber bullets and stun grenades. The Police advance to arrest the armed protesters resulting sic in Police officers having to again employ force to defend themselves at close quarters. This resulted in 13 more protester deaths with 15 more wounded at
8375-521: The ground in front of the strikers, raising a dust cloud which obscured the officers' view of the strikers but into which many of them continued to fire. After about nine seconds, a Tactical Response Team commander raised his fist and shouted "cease fire", but some officers continued firing. Several officers admitted that their rifles had been set to automatic fire . 17 strikers were killed, and those injured at scene one did not receive medical attention until about an hour later. The shootings at scene two, on
8500-503: The law or violence. We call upon the labour movement and business to work with government to arrest the situation before it deteriorates any further. I have instructed law enforcement agencies to do everything possible to bring the situation under control and to bring the perpetrators of violence to book... We extend our deepest condolences to the families of all who have lost their lives since the beginning of this violent action. The following day, Zuma returned early from Mozambique to visit
8625-405: The massacre – he denied that Amcu had promised workers that it could negotiate a R12,500 wage. In the aftermath of the strike and massacre, commentators turned their attention to broader conditions in the mining industry which could have contributed to the workers' grievances and to the volatile environment during the strike. Al Jazeera said that the strike took place amid "seething tensions" in
8750-473: The meeting, the operational command decided that SAPS would again ask the strikers to lay down their weapons and leave the koppie and would thereafter search any stragglers who remained on the koppie ; but the meeting also reaffirmed the tactical option as a last resort if the strikers refused to comply. They also discussed how the tactical option would be implemented on the ground. Subsequent investigation concluded that SAPS probably understood at this point that
8875-608: The mid-1990s, but is still used by elements of the Special Task Force . Since the departure of democratic South Africa's first National commissioner George Fivaz in January 2000, a number of successive commissioners have been unable to complete a single term in office, most implicated in and charged with misconduct. The distribution of personnel has been controversial, with local legislators questioning why areas most in need of policing resources are being neglected. The department
9000-674: The military maintained a close relationship even after the SAP assumed permanent responsibility for domestic law and order in 1926. Police officials often called on the army for support in case of emergencies. During the Second World War , one SAP brigade served with the 2nd Infantry Division of the South African Army in North Africa. When the National Party (NP) edged out its more liberal opponents in nationwide elections in 1948,
9125-407: The military ranking system. This created a significant amount of controversy from people critical of what they called the "militarisation" of the police. The ranking system was amended in 2016. The role of regional police commissioner was introduced, with the rank of lieutenant general. The major and lieutenant ranks were eliminated, with lieutenants assuming the rank of captain and majors assuming
9250-508: The mine, as a result of "dire living conditions, union rivalry, and company disinterest". The Bench Marks Foundation argued that a key trigger of the violence had been the exploitation of the mineworkers: "The benefits of mining are not reaching the workers or the surrounding communities. Lack of employment opportunities for local youth, squalid living conditions, unemployment and growing inequalities contribute to this mess." Rob Davies , South Africa's Minister of Trade and Industry , described
9375-519: The national military to the platinum-mining belt in mid-September and collectively made 2012 the most protest -filled year in the country since the end of apartheid . In the aftermath of the massacre, 270 Lonmin mineworkers were arrested and, under the common purpose doctrine, charged with the murder of their colleagues on 16 August; the charges were ultimately dropped amid public outcry. An official commission of inquiry , chaired by retired judge Ian Farlam , concluded its investigation in 2015 but
9500-449: The nearby koppie ( Afrikaans for a small hilltop), which was located on public land and easily accessible from the various Lonmin mines in the area and from the Marikana and Wonderkop settlements. The koppie became the primary staging ground for confrontations in the week ahead. According to the Guardian 's sources, it was on the afternoon of 11 August that other Lonmin miners joined the rock drill operators in their strike, infuriated by
9625-585: The new government enacted legislation that strengthened the relationship between the police and the military. Police subsequently became heavily armed, especially when facing unruly or hostile crowds. The Police Act (No. 7) of 1958 broadened the mission of the SAP beyond conventional police functions, and allowed police to quell civil unrest and conduct counterinsurgency operations. The Police Amendment Act (No. 70) of 1965 allowed police to detain any person, receptacle, vehicle, aircraft, or premises within one mile of any national border, and to seize anything found without
9750-401: The operational commander to "engage, engage, engage", but officers involved said that the order was clearly directed at public-order policing officers, not the Tactical Response Team members, and that the Tactical Response Team members in any case believed that they were under threat of imminent attack by the strikers. The police later said that the use of live ammunition had become necessary when
9875-413: The other strikers, in which they implied an intention to resist any police intervention, including possibly through violent means. There were also reports that some strikers had been anointed with muti , which SAPS later said had made them believe they were "invincible"; other observers suggested that even if this were not the case, the reports might have encouraged the perception by police officers that
10000-518: The police forces stationed at Marikana now included several elite units: in addition to 176 public-order policing officers, there were 337 officers from specialised units including the Tactical Reaction Unit, Special Task Force , National Intervention Unit and the K-9. When my husband was going to work, leaving me, he told me that they are going to a meeting, where they are going to be addressed by
10125-401: The police negotiators were informed that a corpse had been found around the back of the koppie . It was the body of Isiah Twala, a Lonmin supervisor, whom some of the strikers accused of being an impimpi (informer). The strikers' representatives agreed to let police land a helicopter near the koppie in order to conduct investigations on the scene. At this point, Lonmin management believed
10250-538: The police to accede to the strikers' demand that Lonmin management address them directly. Indeed, Lonmin had that morning reiterated its insistence that it would engage with its employees only through the official structures "in a very safe environment where there are no weapons. Not on the mountain". On 14 August, SAPS members had met with Lonmin management, and North West Police Commissioner Zukiswa Mbombo had proposed that Lonmin should issue an ultimatum to its workers to return to work; SAPS would then attempt to encircle
10375-452: The police's firm intention that "today we are ending this matter", telling eNCA that "The plan is that we intend to ensure that today we end this strike. If they resist, like I said, today is a day that we intend to end the violence." Similarly, SAPS spokesman Dennis Adriao told a journalist, "Today is unfortunately D-day. It is an illegal gathering. We've tried to negotiate and we'll try again, but if that fails, we'll obviously have to go to
10500-490: The police. According to Peter Jordi from the Wits Law Clinic "[Police] Torture is spiralling out of control. It is happening everywhere." Brandon Edmonds argues that "The cops prey on the poor in this country." Independent studies have confirmed that the SAPS has been used to repress peaceful marches. In April 2009, SAPS attempted to ban unFreedom Day and was implicated in support for September 2009 ANC mob that attacked
10625-654: The rank of lieutenant colonel. As of 2024 the National Commissioner is Lt. Gen. Sehlahle Fannie Masemola , who was appointed on 31 March 2022. Leon Mbangwa is Chief of Staff. Through the early-1990s, the police were equipped with smoke and tear-gas dispensing vehicles, tank trucks with water cannons, vehicles that dispensed barbed wire or razor wire to cordon off areas, and a number of rotor and fixed wing aircraft for surveillance, ground force management, rapid deployment of Task Force and specialist teams to crime scenes and VIP personnel movements. The RG-12 'Nyala'
10750-558: The relationship between Pikoli and Justice Minister Brigitte Mabandla. However, journalists at the Mail and Guardian claim to have solid information supporting the widespread suspicion that President Mbeki suspended Pikoli as part of a bid to shield Police Commissioner Selebi. According to the Mail and Guardian on 5 October 2007 the NPA was investigating Selebi for corruption, fraud, racketeering and defeating
10875-421: The safety or security of any community, ensure criminals are brought to justice and participate in efforts to address the causes of crime. Amnesty International and others have expressed serious concerns about South African police brutality , including torture and extrajudicial killings. The South African Police Service traces its origin to the Dutch Watch, a paramilitary organisation formed by settlers in
11000-518: The same time he expressed alarm that "the escalating violence has been allowed to continue unabated by the law enforcement agencies" and called for the deployment of a special task force or the military to "deal decisively with the criminal elements in Rustenberg and its surrounding mine". Amcu vice-president Jeff Mthahmeme, in response, denied that the NUM was a victim, accusing NUM members of being "the perpetrators of this violence" and of having led to
11125-547: The sanctity of human life and the right to life ". Meanwhile, the day after the shootings, a group of about 50 women in the Marikana community staged a protest, demanding that the police officers responsible for the shooting be fired. The families of the miners criticised the government's delay in producing a list of the dead, which left many uncertain whether missing members of their families were amongst those killed, wounded, or arrested on 16 August. South African Police Service The South African Police Service ( SAPS )
11250-523: The scene. On the evening of 13 August, the police had made a decision to attempt to negotiate a peaceful resolution with the strikers, who were still occupying the koppie . Lieutenant Colonel Stephen James McIntosh, a trained hostage negotiator , arrived at the koppie in the early afternoon on 14 August. He later recounted that there had been between 4,000 to 5,000 strikers on the koppie , many of them armed with traditional or homemade weapons, and many of them "rowdy and aggressive". After McIntosh addressed
11375-440: The second incident. Police officers testified that they had repeatedly told the mineworkers to lay down their weapons and come out in the open but that some had refused or even had fired at the police. Several officers also said that they had been told, or had inferred from the sound of gunfire, that they were under attack by the mineworkers; subsequent investigation suggested that they might have mistakenly believed that SAPS gunfire
11500-526: The site of the shootings in Rustenberg, and announced that he would establish a commission of inquiry to discover "the real cause" of the tragedy ( see below ). The same day, National Police Commissioner Riah Phiyega told the media, "This is no time for blaming, this is no time for finger-pointing. It is a time for us to mourn". Phiyega said that the police had acted in self-defence , having been "forced to use maximum force to defend themselves". To support this argument she presented aerial photography of
11625-424: The smaller koppie less than 500 metres away from scene one, began about 15 minutes after the first shooting. Senior police officers present at Marikana, including the overall operational commander, said that they had not known that the shooting at scene one had occurred and therefore did not halt the intervention but instead gathered nearby to regroup. Subsequent investigation cast doubt on their claim to ignorance of
11750-417: The so-called "tactical option", therefore was pre-arranged and was not – contrary to initial suggestions – only formulated on the ground on the afternoon of 16 August when events on the koppie escalated. ANC stalwart Cyril Ramaphosa , who was a former NUM leader and in 2012 was a member of the Lonmin board, was criticised for failing to advocate for the workers' interests. Instead, emails he had written during
11875-408: The strike to have been driven by Amcu and its support for the R12,500 wage demand – a claim later retracted. However, at the time, that belief also circulated in the media, which reproduced the narrative that the ongoing violence at Marikana was the result of rivalry between Amcu and NUM. Also on 14 August, NUM general secretary Baleni denied this, saying that NUM was a victim of Amcu in the violence. At
12000-637: The strike – later released publicly – were interpreted as showing that he had argued for the police to intervene. On 15 August, he wrote to Lonmin's chief commercial director, "The terrible events that have unfolded cannot be described as a labour dispute. They are plainly dastardly criminal and must be characterised as such... There needs to be concomitant action to address this situation." In another email, he wrote that, "the Minister [ Susan Shabangu , Minister of Mineral Resources ] and indeed all government officials need to understand that we are essentially dealing with
12125-500: The strikers if they returned to work, but that this promise was retracted on the morning of 16 August. Mathunjwa left the koppie just before 3.40 p.m., when the operation began. Subsequent events took place in two main locations: so-called scene one, at the koppie which the strikers had occupied throughout the week, and scene two, at a smaller koppie nearby ( see locations below ). According to official figures, 34 people were killed and 78 injured in total across both scenes. During
12250-402: The strikers in an attempt to disperse them and prevent them from storming the police lines. Overall, police accounts of the events emphasised the officers' perception that they were under attack by the strikers. Apparently contributing to the police's perception of a threat was the fact that, by 3.53 p.m., a group of over 100 mineworkers was approaching a passage of land between a police line and
12375-403: The strikers on the koppie and offer them a chance to lay down their weapons and leave the koppie one by one. In the conversation, which was recorded, Mbombo said that if the strikers did not surrender their arms the following day, "it is blood". However, she also said, "I do not want a situation where 20 people are dead. This is not what we are here for." However, the following day, the visit of
12500-431: The strikers to negotiate the wage increase, but because it had been asked, on 13 August, to intervene in the standoff, even though it did not officially represent the workers involved. Indeed, negotiations between SAPS and the strikers were to resume on the morning of 15 August, and Mathunjwa made himself available to assist. On 15 August, he and NUM president Senzeni Zokwana appeared together on Xolani Gwala's Forum at 8 ,
12625-568: The strikers were irrational or otherwise threatening. At around 1 p.m., Johannes Seoka , the Anglican Bishop of Pretoria and the chairman of the South African Council of Churches , arrived at the koppie and spoke to the strikers' leaders, who asked him to have Lonmin management address the crowd at the koppie . At around the same time, beginning at 1.30 p.m., the SAPS operational command held another meeting. According to minutes of
12750-404: The strikers would not comply and that the tactical option would be necessary. When Bishop Seoka met with Lonmin managers, they told him that the strikers should be told again that management would negotiate only if they disarmed and left the koppie ; however, before Seoka could transmit this message to the koppie , somebody pulled him aside and advised him that the koppie had become off limits as
12875-515: The strikers' desired wage increase to R12,500. According to sources interviewed by the Daily Maverick , the instigators of the strike were largely NUM members, but "came together as workers, not as a union" and held the strike without any union representation. Testifying later, witnesses disagreed about whether the gatherings on 10 August had been peaceful or whether attendees had displayed aggression towards Lonmin management. Little reported on at
13000-405: The striking mineworkers, who throughout the week had gathered on a public koppie ( Afrikaans for a small hilltop) neighbouring the mine. The shooting took place at two locations, roughly 500 metres away from each other, with 17 people fatally wounded at each location. The vast majority of fatalities were killed by R5 assault rifle fire. The official figure for strikers injured during the shooting
13125-521: The three units fired at strikers on the small koppie , discharging 295 bullets in total. Fourteen mineworkers died on the scene and three later died in hospital. Ten were killed in a crevice in a rocky area on the koppie , where they appeared to have attempted to hide. A police report submitted in the early hours of 17 August to the President and the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation provided
13250-741: The time were clashes on the evening of 10 August between the strikers and private security officials employed by Lonmin. According to Lonmin and NUM officials, there was widespread intimidation of workers who wished to report for duty instead of joining the strike. On at least three occasions during the evening of 10 August, Lonmin security officers fired rubber bullets into crowds of strikers, who they said were armed with traditional weapons, including knobkerries and spears . Two miners were injured by gunshots and filed criminal charges for attempted murder, but subsequent investigation did not establish whether they had been hit with live ammunition or only by rubber bullets. The South African Police Service (SAPS)
13375-468: The union accepted unfair wage settlements that tied workers into years of insufficient wage increases. Amcu, on the other hand, was founded by Joseph Mathunjwa after he fell out with the NUM in 1998. In the months and years ahead of the Marikana strike, Amcu had begun to compete with the NUM for members and bargaining rights, especially in South Africa's platinum mines – the NUM's platinum sector had, during Baleni's tenure, become increasingly alienated from
13500-534: The union leaders to Marikana led SAPS to postpone taking strong action against the strikers. Later on 15 August, an "extraordinary session" of the SAPS National Management Forum was held in Midrand, Gauteng , and endorsed a new strategy: if the plan to encircle the strikers and have them voluntarily disarm and disperse failed, SAPS would forcibly disarm and remove them from the koppie . This contingency,
13625-444: The union. He hoped to hear from the union whether they had managed to come to an agreement with Lonmin, whether they were going back to work tomorrow, and how much they would get paid. – Makopane Thelejane, whose husband Thabiso died at the second scene The atmosphere at the scene was later described as highly hostile. In response to the evident hardening of the police's attitude, at least two strikers made inflammatory speeches to
13750-422: The use of non-lethal force failed to halt the advance of what it called a "militant group [which] stormed toward the police firing shots and wielding dangerous weapons". Most people then called for us to get off the mountain, and as we were coming down, the shooting began. Most people who were shot near the kraal were trying to get into the settlement; the blood we saw is theirs. We ran in the other direction, as it
13875-589: The victims were shot from behind and many shot far from police lines. It later emerged that the violence had actually started on 11 August when leaders from the National Union of Mineworkers opened fire on striking NUM members killing two. It is alleged that police did nothing in the aftermath thereby creating a situation in which workers felt that they would have to use other means to protect themselves. Between 12 and 14 August, approximately 8 more people were killed including two policemen and two security guards. It
14000-435: The wage increases that had been obtained by rock drillers at the Impala mine strike earlier that year (from R4,000 to R9,500). Some were reportedly encouraged by the fact that, in July 2012, Lonmin had agreed to grant a housing allowance increase to miners following an unprotected strike, suggesting that the mine was willing to negotiate outside of the collective wage agreement. However, it was also reported that Amcu had promised
14125-418: The weapons but admitted he was not certain he had returned them to their original positions. It was estimated that, as a result, weapons were in effect planted on the bodies of at least six dead mineworkers. In addition, SAPS did not immediately provide a clear account of the events at scene two, but rather suggested in its initial media statements that the shootings had proceeded in a single continuous stage at
14250-459: The wire was immediately visible from the koppie and provoked a hostile response from the strikers. Other preparations included an order of 4,000 additional rounds of R5 ammunition (which was delivered to Marikana in the afternoon but sent back as unneeded) and a request to station four mortuary vehicles, equipped to remove up to sixteen corpses, at Marikana (although only one hearse was available and it did not arrive until around 1 p.m.). In addition,
14375-415: Was ambivalent in assigning blame for the massacre, criticising the police's strategy and actions but also criticising the conduct of the strikers, unions, and mine management. The Marikana strike occurred against a backdrop of antagonism between the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and its emerging rival, the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU). The NUM was the largest affiliate of
14500-466: Was attacked with spears and other rudimentary weapons. The commanding officer said that he was in another Nyala and could hear that it was also under attack but could not tell whether it was being hit by stones or by bullets. Believing that the public-order policing forces were under attack by the strikers, the commanding officer authorised the use of non-lethal force and then instructed the Nyalas to drive among
14625-476: Was coming from strikers. In addition, analyst David Bruce of the Institute for Security Studies argued that the shootings at scene two probably involved "a strong element of vindictive hostility towards the strikers", pointing in particular to the various witness statements that claimed that some of the victims had been shot while surrendering. Based on a preliminary examination of the crime scene, Greg Marinovich of
14750-587: Was criticised by the Western Cape Government for providing the lowest number personnel (adjusted for population) with a shortage of 2,392 officers, despite having the highest murder rate. This was the subject of the Khayelitsha Commission in 2012. Amnesty International has expressed concerns about police brutality, including torture and extrajudicial killings, in South Africa. There has also been concern about brutal training methods for
14875-418: Was driven by rock drill operators, who of all mineworkers typically work in some of the most dangerous conditions underground. Lonmin employed about 4,100 such operators. The rock drillers sought a three-fold wage increase, from R 4,000 a month to R12,500 a month, notwithstanding the fact that the prevailing collective wage agreement was not due to expire until 2013. At least some of the strikers were inspired by
15000-512: Was formed in Mpumalanga , South Africa , in 1998 as a breakaway faction of the COSATU -affiliated National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). It was formally registered as a union in 2001. According to Mining Weekly , the union sees itself as distinct from NUM in that it is "apolitical and noncommunist". Competition with NUM over bargaining rights, especially at the Impala Platinum and Lonmin mines in
15125-512: Was found guilty of dishonest conduct. On 12 July 2019, it was announced the five North West Province police officers were arrested during the week in three separate corruption cases. On 4 June 2020, six senior Gauteng police officers where among 14 people arrested on corruption charges. Two other senior officers, now retired, were arrested as well. Among the Guateng-based SAPS officers charged with corruption included three brigadiers and
15250-437: Was impossible now to make it through the bullets... We ran until we got to the meeting spot and watched the incidents at the koppie. Two helicopters landed; soldiers and police surrounded the area. We never saw anyone coming out of the koppie. – An unnamed striker The volley of gunfire lasted eight or 12 seconds and involved 328 rounds of live ammunition. During the first four seconds, several warning shots were fired into
15375-413: Was later made public in which he could be seen on his knees pleading with the strikers. Mathunjwa later said that the strikers had dug into their protest because Lonmin had reneged on its commitment that "once you're there peacefully at work, management will address your grievances through union structures". Specifically, he claimed that Lonmin management had promised on 15 August that it would negotiate with
15500-431: Was summoned by Lonmin during the unrest on the evening of 10 August and later testified that on that day it formulated a contingency plan which would allow it to conduct policing in the case of prolonged or hostile strike action. Early in the morning on Saturday 11 August, the strikers – still primarily NUM-affiliated rock drill operators – marched to the main offices of the NUM in Wonderkop, where they intended to present
15625-508: Was suspended on 15 October 2020 and was dismissed from SAPS on 13 November 2020. On 23 December 2020, four Cape Town police officers attached to the national border control unit at Cape Town International Airport were arrested for extorting money from Chinese businesses. On 23 December 2020, Peter Ntsime, Acting Deputy General Secretary of the South African Policing Union (SAPU), reported that Colonel Kamelash Dalip Singh,
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