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On Monday, 9 September 2024, the Mahikeng High Court acquitted six police officers who were standing trial for their involvement in the events of 13 August 2012 which resulted in the deaths of three mineworkers (Mr. Semi Jokanisi, Mr. Thembelakhe Mati and Mr. Pumzile Sokanyile) as well as two police officers (Warrant Officer Tsietsi Hendrik Monene, and Warrant Officer Sello Ronnie Lepaauku). SERI is disheartened with this outcome and our sympathies are with the affected families. The trial had been ongoing since May 2021.

On 13 August 2012, a few days into the strike, mineworkers marched from Karee shaft towards the K4 shaft of the Lonmin mine to persuade others to join the strike and to refrain from working. Before reaching the shaft, the mineworkers turned back to return to the koppie that they had occupied in Wonderkop. On their way back, the mineworkers were intercepted by the police led by the former North West Deputy Police Commissioner Major-General William Mpembe. He attempted to negotiate with the mineworkers, seeking to disarm them of their traditional weapons. The mineworkers expressed their desire for the police to instead escort them back to the koppie where they would join the rest of their peers who were peacefully protesting.

However, during this exchange, the police suddenly refused to continue with negotiations. As the mineworkers began moving away, continuing their march back to the koppie, a tear gas canister was set off, shortly followed by stun grenades without any warning.  Mpembe was later charged in his capacity as head of the operation during the events of 13 August 2012 for instructing police to fire teargas, stun grenades, and rubber bullets which led to the chaos that resulted in the deaths of the mineworkers and police officers. He was charged with the murder of all five deceased. Mpembe was also charged with the attempted murders of six surviving mineworkers and one police officer. Regarding the murder of Mr. Sokanyile, in particular, Mpembe was charged alongside retired Colonel Salmon Johannes Vermaak and police officers Nkosana Mguye, Masilo Mogale, Katlego Joseph Sekgweleya, and Khazamola Phillip Makhubela. Mr. Sokanyile died as a result of being shot in the head after allegedly being pursued by the police, some 620 metres away from the scene of the main confrontation. The police officers who were charged included those who admitted shooting at Mr Sokanyile in testimony before the Marikana Commission of Inquiry and were also connected to cartridges found 74,4 metres away from Mr Sokanyile’s body.

Yesterday, despite this, the officers were acquitted.

In March 2021, officers Mpembe, Gideon van Zyl, Dingaan Madoda and Oupa Pule were acquitted in the case relating to the death of mineworker Mr. Modisaotsile van Wyk Sagalala who is one of the 34 mineworkers  allegedly injured at ‘scene 2’. He later died from these injuries. The officers were charged with defeating the ends of justice, contravening Section (29)(1) of the IPID Act for failure to report a death in police custody to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) and for contravening Section 6(2) of the Commission Act for lying to the Marikana Commission of Inquiry under oath. The South African Police Service testified at the Marikana Commission of Inquiry that Mr. Sagalala had died at the Andrew Saffie hospital, when in fact, according to an investigation by IPID, he was already dead when the police transported his body from the detention centre to the hospital. 

To date, the state is yet to charge anyone concerning the events of 16 August 2012. The families of the deceased mineworkers continue to wait for justice twelve years after the Marikana massacre. The state has failed in its duties to uphold the rights of victims to an effective remedy and allowed this gross abuse of human rights to remain unaccounted for, to the detriment of the survivors, the families and at a cost of continued failures in policing.

SERI executive director, Nomzamo Zondo, said: “The failure to hold accountable those responsible for these deaths is a betrayal of justice. Not only does it dishonour the families of the deceased but erodes trust in our justice system."

Contact details:  

• Asenati Tukela, SERI attorney: Asenati[at]seri-sa.org / 078 684 7658.
• Nomzamo Zondo, SERI executive director: Nomzamo[at]seri-sa.org / 071 301 9676.
• Edward Molopi, SERI senior communications and advocacy officer: Edward[at]seri-sa.org / 082 590 9638.

>> Download the full statement here. 

[ENDS[

Saturday, 31 August 2024, marked a year since the Usindiso building fire on Albert Street, Marshalltown. The Marshalltown Fire Justice Campaign hosted a candlelight vigil outside the Usindiso building in recognition of the lives that were lost in the fire and affirmed solidarity for the fight for justice by the survivors of the fire, who have yet been provided with alternative housing and compensation for their loss. The memorial was attended by the survivors of the fire, various civil society organisations, as well as members of the public. SERI stands in solidarity with the campaign and echoes the campaign's call for justice for the survivors and the families of the victims. The event was attended by some of the SERI's staff including SERI's executive director Nomzamo Zondo, who delivered a message of solidarity on behalf of SERI.

The fire at Usindiso claimed the lives of 77 people including 12 children and left many more injured and destitute. The building, which had become derelict, was owned by the City of Johannesburg and the Johannesburg Property Company (JPC). The Khampepe Commission of Inquiry into the fire has found that the building was abandoned by the City and JPC at least since 2019 and has found that the City and its entities, including the JPC, must bear partial responsibility and/or accountability for the tragedy and that that the consequences of the fire would have been mitigated had the City complied with its legal obligations as owner and municipality.

August 2024 has marked the twelfth anniversary of the Marikana massacre. Despite efforts to secure justice and accountability for the families of the deceased miners, the state has yet to prosecute anyone for the events of 16 August 2012. The trial concerning the events of 13 August 2012, in which six police officers are standing trial, has been ongoing since it commenced in 2021.

To commemorate the twelfth anniversary of the Marikana massacre, SERI, together with the Forge hosted an event that brought together music, poetry, and a panel discussion to reflect on the lack of justice, remember the victims of the massacre and revive the collective call for justice for Marikana. Panelists included Julian Brown, Associate Professor in Politics at the University of the Witwatersrand; Koketso Moeti, founding executive director of Amandla.mobi; and Asenati Tukela, lead attorney acting on behalf of the families represented by SERI.

Musical performances were delivered by Yonela Mnana, a jazz scholar, teacher, recording singer, and pianist, and Iphupho l'ka Biko, a Johannesburg-based Pan-Africanist band. Poetry performances were delivered by Makhafula Vilakazi, a well-known poet whose work depicts township life and explores issues that affect his community such as unemployment and crime, delivered in a fusion of Tsotsitaal, English, Zulu, and Sotho.

Op-eds

• This Women’s Month, the state must honour the plight of the women of Marikana, Justin Winchester and Grace Gomba, Daily Maverick (16 August 2024).
• The state still withholding justice for victims of the Marikana massacre, Thato Masiangoako and Justin Winchester, Mail & Guardian (14 August 2024).

Media coverage

• Legal showdown looming over constitutional damages in Marikana massacre lawsuit, Mayibongwe Maqhina, MSN (18 August 2024).
• Marikana massacre 12 years on: Victims await compensation, Nokukhanya Mntambo, EWN (17 August 2024).
• [WATCH] SERI's Asenati Tukela is interviewed on SABC News about the lack of justice for Marikana twelve years since the massacre (17 August 2024).
• Marikana Massacre Anniversary Highlights Unending Hardship, The Pinnacle Gazette (17 August 2024).
• [WATCH] SERI's Thato Masiangoako interviewed Newzroom Africa to discuss the lack of justice for the Marikana massacre (16 August 2024).
• R352m in compensation paid out to Marikana massacre victims, says Justice Dept, Lindsay Dentlinger, EWN (16 August 2024).
• 12 Years After the Marikana Massacre and No Prosecutions: SERI, Tebogo Mokwena, Briefly (16 August 2024)
• Marikana: 12 years later, still no apology to families – SERI, Celumusa Zuma, East Coast Radio / Jacaranda FM (16 August 2024).
• Marikana massacre: calls for justice, reparations continue, Lindiwe Mabena, YFM (16 August 2024).
• Mineworkers families still seek justice, 12 years after Marikana, Liesl Smit, Smile FM (16 August 2024).
• Justice Department Distributes R352 Million to Marikana Massacre Victims Amid Legal Proceedings, IAfrica (16 August 2024).
• [WATCH] SERI's Nomzamo Zondo interviewed on Newzroom Afrika to discuss the lack of justice twelve years after the Marikana massacre (15 August 2024).
• [WATCH] SERI's Nomzamo Zondo is interviewed on Hilaal TV alongside Rehad Desai, director of Miners Shot Down to discuss the lack of justice for Marikana twelve years later (14 August 2024).
• Almost 12 years later and still no justice for Marikana, Kabir Jugram, Wits Vuvuzela (13 August 2024).

On Tuesday, 27 August 2024, the Supreme Court of Appeal will hear arguments in City of Johannesburg  and Others v Occupiers of Portion 971 of the Farm Randjiesfontein No. 405 and Others. The City of Johannesburg is seeking to appeal the 2022 decision of the Gauteng Local Division of the High Court which ordered the City to provide the waste reclaimers with temporary emergency accommodation allowing them to live and sort their reclaimed waste. The City's appeal is based on the requirement that the alternative accommodation it would provide the reclaimers would allow for them to sort and store their materials overnight.

SERI represents over 100 waste reclaimers who faced eviction from the property known as Randjiesfontein farm in Midrand, Johannesburg. The property is vacant, undeveloped land located between a residential complex and a business park in Midrand, Johannesburg. The eviction was brought by Rycloff-Beleggings (Pty) Ltd,  the registered title-holder of the property. The occupiers are informal reclaimers who had  been residing on the property for at least five years. In addition to living on the property, the space has enabled them to eke out a living by sorting and storing their recyclable materials on the site.

The reclaimers contended that an eviction, without the provision of alternative accommodation, would render them homeless and without the ability to make a decent living. They submitted that the location of the alternative accommodation provided by the municipality should be where they would be able sort and store their recyclable materials and that it should be within reach to medium-income households who produce high-value waste. They argued in their submissions that allowing for an eviction order in the absence of the provision of alternative accommodation suitable for the reclaimers’ work would amount to a violation of a range of their constitutionally and internationally protected human rights.

In October 2022, the High Court ordered the City to provide the reclaimers with temporary emergency accommodation that would allow the evicted reclaimers to live and sort their reclaimed waste. The High Court found the rights of children are paramount in cases involving children such as the present one and that relocating the reclaimers to a place where they cannot earn a basic living as they presently do, would leave them at risk of being unable to maintain their dignity and care for their children. The Court also held that while all the parties’ rights are important, it would be unfair and therefore unconstitutional to uphold the other parties’ rights while the reclaimers go hungry.

In its appeal before the SCA, the City submits that the High Court's order amounts to "an undue overreaching extension of the obligations of the State in providing Emergency Temporary Accommodation to unlawful occupiers". They submit that this is because the reclaimers' commercial interests are not relevant for the court's consideration in terms of the Prevention of Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act, 19 of 1998 (“PIE Act”); and that the rights of children, under section 28 of the Constitution, are also not relevant for consideration under the PIE Act.

• Access documents and read more about the case here.