Press Alert: R2K & MSC picket in solidarity with Marikana Strike Leaders

Five years after the Marikana Massacre, 17 strike leaders, including Mzoxolo Magidiwana and Tholakela (Bele) Dlunga, who many know through Miners Shot Down, are facing serious public violence charges, linked to the strike. The National Prosecuting Authority has found its voice when it comes to these worker leaders. The trials will begin on 31 July. If the state is successful, these men will remain in jail for years to come.

And yet, we have no answers for what the police have done to prosecute police officers who were found by the Farlam Commission of Inquiry to have used excessive force, and to likely be guilty of murder and attempted murder. At the close of last year, when it was announced that the Presidency was recommending that certain police officers be charged for their involvement in the massacre, we cautiously welcomed the announcement. However, to date we have failed to obtain an answer on the progress of any such prosecutions, a full five years after the massacre.

On Monday, 31 July, at the start of the trial, Right2Know and Marikana Support Campaign will be picketing outside the Rustenberg Magistrate’s Court to show solidarity with the miners and demand justice for Marikana – 5 years later.

Time: 9am, Monday 31 July

Place: Rustenburg, Magistrate’s Court, 13 Nelson Mandela Street, Rustenburg