By: Sello Theletsane
The Secretary-General of the South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) on Tuesday said President Cyril Ramaphosa should account for the deaths of 34 miners who perished in Marikana during a wage dispute.
This comes after the South Gauteng High Court found that Ramaphosa was not directly responsible for the deaths of the miners but found that he had played a role in the toxic collusion that led to police gunning down the miners at a Koppie near the mine.
In 2012 during the prolonged workers’ strike, Ramaphosa who was then a non-executive director for Lonmin had sent an e-mail to the police management asking them to take concomitant action against the miners. Some had seen this as putting pressure on the police to deal with the striking miners.
“The South African Federation of Trade Unions welcomes the South Gauteng High court ruling that found president Cyril Ramaphosa and Lonmin the predecessor of Sibanye Stillwater had participated in and masterminded the toxic collusion that led to 34 miners being slaughtered,” SAFTU general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi said.
He said the families of the dead miners and those who survived the massacre had a strong case against the president. Vavi said the miners and their families deserved compensation from Lonmin and Ramaphosa.
“The court could not find him directly responsible for the deaths; their liability is only related to complicity relating to the events leading up to the massacre,” Vavi said. He accused Ramaphosa of being selfish and only thinking about himself and his business ambitions.
“Subsequent to Ramaphosa’s email to the police commissioner the police shot and killed 34 mine workers and injured scores of them,” Vavi said.
Vavi criticized Ramaphosa’s character, describing him as a British puppet. He said the families of the miners deserved compensation to the tune of R1 billion.
Meanwhile, in a statement, The Presidency in a statement said it welcomed the outcome of the South Gauteng High Court. Political parties such as the EFF were also calling for Ramaphosa to account for the murders of the miners.
