Former Mineworkers’ Union Chief Called Their Strike Criminal — 34 Bodies Later He Runs South Africa

On August 16, 2012, thirty-four men were shot by police during a wage dispute at Lonmin’s platinum operation in the North West. The incident occurred on the koppies of Marikana. A former mineworkers’ union leader was seated on the board of directors of the firm and observed the events unfold from a vantage point on the board room. Those guys had resigned from their positions and demanded a monthly salary of R12,500. A little over R4,000 was what they were making.

It has been believed that Cyril Ramaphosa, who established his early name by mobilising labour in the identical shafts where these rock drill operators worked, wrote a series of emails to Lonmin management and government contacts in the days leading up to the slaughter. According to reports, he called for “concurrent action” in those texts, in which he referred to the ongoing industrial action as “plainly dastardly criminal.” The South African Police Service (SAPS) opened fire, resulting in the injuries of seventy-eight further strikers.

There was no clear proof that Ramaphosa commanded officers to discharge weapons, according to the findings of the Farlam Commission of Inquiry, which conducted an investigation into the killings over the course of several years. Investigators did, however, delve deeply into his correspondence and examine it in great detail. His personal address to the nation included the following admission: “I may very well have used unfortunate language in the messages that I sent out.” Nevertheless, I had never intended to be responsible for the deaths of thirty-four other mine workers.

The path that he took after the Marikana incident garnered significant attention all around the nation. During the Farlam hearings, it was investigated whether or not the private communications of a key shareholder had an effect on the way law enforcement dealt with striking workers. The documents that were presented to the commissioners revealed that Ramaphosa had a non-executive directorship at Lonmin through his investment vehicle. He also received dividends from the same company whose employees were seeking relief. It was because of this background that the contradiction had the specific weight that it did. His entire political career had been built on standing in solidarity with labour.

A resolution was finally reached through the mediation of mediators, and the remaining drill operators agreed to accept R11,078 per month. This amount represented years of suffering and legal proceedings that were compressed into a value that was still lower than what they had first demanded. There was no compensation, no back pay, and no increment given to the 34 people who passed away. The dead were gathered by their families.

It was in February of 2018, six years after the shooting, that Ramaphosa became the president of South Africa. When the man who had previously marched alongside workers chose to characterise their successors’ desperation as criminality, what exactly did he believe those people deserved? This is the question that South Africans in mining towns, union halls, and township kitchens keep returning to, and it is one that remains stubbornly unaddressed.

Source;https://x.com/i/status/2118416984182243466

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