Marikana Shootings Farlam Commission Thread

Cops were 'ordered to act': Testimony

The police officers who took part in the Marikana dispersal plan were ordered to act, the Farlam Commission of Inquiry heard on Thursday.

Dali Mpofu, for the arrested and injured miners, said a police official identified as Cornelius Botes said he heard Brigadier Adriaan Calitz issue the order.

According to a statement by Botes, Calitz said: "Engage, engage, engage" over the police radio.

Mpofu, who was cross-examining Maj-Gen Charl Annandale, argued that this showed that the officers who shot at the striking Lonmin mineworkers were acting on orders, and not in self-defence.

Annandale headed the police's tactical operations team during the Marikana wage-related unrest in August. He told the commission, sitting in Rustenburg, that the police had been given an order not to attack unless they were attacked.

"The instruction was to engage only if the target engages you first," said Annandale.

Mpofu asked him what "engage" meant in that context.

"Brigadier Calitz was busy with the dispersal team.... My observation is that perhaps this was part of his dispersal action plan, which involved the use of rubber bullets and water cannons," Annandale said.

During Thursday's proceedings. Mpofu and Lonmin lawyer, Schalk Burger, repeatedly clashed.

Burger objected to many of the questions Mpofu put to Annandale, and said he was against Mpofu's "kite-flying line of questioning".

An agitated Mpofu argued that Burger's continuous objections interfered with his cross-examination and led the witness to the answer.

The hearing was adjourned for the week.

Mpofu is expected to continue cross-examining Annandale on Monday.

The commission, chaired by retired Judge Ian Farlam, is investigating the circumstances surrounding the deaths of 44 people -- 34 of them at the hands of the police -- during wage-related unrest near Lonmin's platinum mine in Marikana.


Source : Sapa /nsm/th/clh/dd
Date : 09 May 2013 14:27
 
Mathunjwa advised strikers to disperse from a hill where they had gathered, and said they would be killed as the life of a black person was cheap.

"I don't know what Mathunjwa based his opinions or views on. This wasn't my mentality, neither did I detect it from any of my colleagues," said Annandale.
Click to expand...
Well regardless of your claimed mentality, you proved Mathunjwa right. It happened exactly as he had predicted and stereotyped!
 
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Mpofu's questioning style queried

Lawyer Dali Mpofu's style of questioning became a point of discussion at the Farlam Commission of Inquiry in Rustenburg on Monday.

Mpofu is representing the miners who were arrested and wounded during wage-related unrest in Marikana last year.

Maj-Gen Charl Annandale, who was being cross-examined, was asked to step out of the auditorium while Mpofu's conduct was discussed.

Annandale headed the police's tactical response team during unrest in which police shot dead 34 striking miners near Lonmin's platinum mine in Marikana, North West, on August 16.

Lonmin lawyer Schalk Burger said: "Propositions are put forward. I do not know what they are based on. The witness doesn't know what they are based on either."

He was referring to a statement by Mpofu that police were acting out of revenge when they shot dead striking mineworkers.

Mpofu responded: "Mr Burger must not ascribe things to me that have not done."

He argued that all he had done was to lay a proper foundation for his arguments and questions.

Mpofu told the commission he had statements which supported his submissions.

A large crowd of people in the public gallery walked out of the auditorium during the debate.

The commission, which is chaired by retired Judge Ian Farlam, is investigating the circumstances surrounding the 34 deaths and those of 10 people in unrest the previous week.

After the discussion, Annandale was brought back in and questioning resumed.


Source : Sapa /nsm/hdw/dd/clh/jk
Date : 13 May 2013 14:51
 
Lonmin lawyer accused of interrupting

Concerns were raised on Monday about the conduct of Lonmin lawyer Schalk Burger in the inquiry into last year's fatal shooting of mineworkers in Marikana, North West.

"The people I represent are... saying the representatives of Lonmin are deliberately interrupting the proceedings," said Dali Mpofu, for the injured and arrested miners.

"They say they (Lonmin representatives) are assisting police witnesses."

Tholoana Motloenya, part of the team representing the families of the dead miners, said her clients felt the same way.

"The families also feel the same way... They feel there's a certain bias to the SAPS (SA Police Service)," she said.

"They are questioning why certain objections are being upheld, but we are trying to explain the process to them."

Earlier, Burger raised concerns about Mpofu's style of questioning with commission chairman, retired judge Ian Farlam.

Evidence leader, Mbuyiseli Madlanga, said while Burger did have numerous objections to questions posed to witnesses, many of them were valid.

Madlanga said Burger proved to be more alert in the proceedings and said, according to his view, the commission had been fair and unbiased.

Burger told the commission that he too represented victims.

"My clients lost (several people including) 34 workers. It caused trauma that they are still trying to recover from. Lives were lost here," said Burger.

Ishmael Semenya, for the police, rejected claims that Burger's objections assisted their case in any manner.

"I don't feel assisted by Mr Burger by one bit," he said.

National Union of Mineworkers representative, Karel Tip, said the objections were important and assisted the proceedings.

Burger questioned what advice Mpofu had given to his clients following their complaints.

"I told my clients that this is normal. Secondly, I advised them that this should be discussed in the chambers, but they said they wanted it raised here," said Mpofu.

Farlam appealed to the affected parties to try to understand the process and said it worked in the same way in the courts of law.

"I appeal to those in the auditorium to understand that this is how the system works.

"I've tried from the beginning of the commission to be fair to all the parties involved and will continue to do so until the end," said Farlam.

He admitted that he had helped witnesses who battled to articulate their answers, but maintained that he never led witnesses.

"My colleagues and I aren't biased," he said.

The commission, which is sitting in Rustenburg, is investigating the deaths of 44 people in Lonmin's wage-related unrest last year.

Police shot dead 34 striking mineworkers in Marikana on August 16. Ten people, including two police officers, were killed in the preceding week.

Earlier, Mpofu cross-examined Maj-Gen Charl Annandale, who headed the police's tactical operations team during the unrest.

Mpofu argued that police laws stated that officers should always give a warning before acting, but police deployed to Marikana did not do this.

He argued that police had ample time to issue a warning to striking miners prior to opening fire on them, and the resources to issue the warnings were available.

Annandale disagreed.

"The warning advocate Mpofu speaks of doesn't fit here, because it doesn't include private and self-defence," said Annandale.

He said the police's plan was to issue a warning in two or through languages through the loud-hailers.

Time would have been given for the dispersal and another warning would have been given. The police would then use water cannons, stun grenades and rubber bullets if strikers still failed to disperse.

Annandale said though the police spent around two minutes deploying barbed wire, there was no time to issue a warning.

"Even though there was that two minutes, it wasn't quiet, some action was happening," said Annandale.


Source : Sapa /nsm/hdw/ks/dd
Date : 13 May 2013 18:12
 
Cops readied themselves for attack

The police officers who shot dead striking mineworkers positioned themselves for an attack, the Farlam Commission heard on Tuesday.

Armed with semi-automatic rifles, they formed their line before any attack against them was launched, said lawyer Dali Mpofu, for the injured and arrested miners.

"Would you agree... that the basic line [was] formed prior to the attack and it was therefore formed for another reason and not [as a] defensive [method]?" asked Mpofu.

He was cross-examining Maj-Gen Charl Annandale, who headed the police's tactical response team during the wage-related unrest in Marikana last year.

Annandale said he was not entirely sure what prompted the police to form their line at that moment.

"[It could have been] to show force or to protect the group."

He said the police's show of force was meant to discourage protesters from advancing any further. He said the method had been used successfully many times in the past.

Ishmael Semenya, for the SA Police Service, objected to Annandale being asked any further questions about the police line, saying he had not been there.

Commission chairman, retired judge Ian Farlam agreed, saying Mpofu should rather save the question for an officer who was on the scene at the time.

The commission, sitting in Rustenburg, is investigating the deaths of 44 people killed in Lonmin's wage-related unrest last year.

Police shot dead 34 striking mineworkers in Marikana on August 16. Ten people, including two police officers, were killed in the preceding week.


Source : Sapa /nsm/fg/th/jk
Date : 14 May 2013 10:57
 
Looks like we have a whole bunch of them again today, on an illegal strike, an illegal march, an illegal gathering, armed to the teeth.

I have no sympathy whatsoever.
 
Marikana events may affect inquiry

New turbulence in Marikana, North West, may indirectly affect public hearings into last year's wage-related unrest at Lonmin platinum mine, the Farlam Commission heard on Tuesday.

Dali Mpofu, for the injured and arrested miners, said a group of miners who usually attended the proceedings using buses, had raised concerns.

"They say they are now identifiable and they are on the witness list," said Mpofu.

He said he would meet with the group during the lunch break to discuss a way forward.

Commission chairman, retired Judge Ian Farlam, said protection would be made available for them if necessary.

"Witness protection (just like in court cases) is available for those involved," said Farlam.

Mining operations at Lonmin were suspended on Tuesday morning because of a wildcat strike.

Company spokeswoman Sue Vey said workers arrived for work but did not go underground.

National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) regional co-ordinator Mxhasi Sithethi said the situation was tense at the mine.

Mpofu told the commission Lonmin workers were gathering at Wonderkop, a hill near the mine, on Tuesday morning.

"As we speak, we hear that 10,000 people are gathered at the koppie," he said.

The gathering follows the murder of an Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union official who was shot dead in Marikana at the weekend.

The official, identified as Mawethu Khululekile Steven, was due to testify at the commission.

Steven was one of several witnesses who have been killed in recent months.

The commission, which is sitting in Rustenburg, is investigating the death of 44 people killed in Lonmin's wage-related unrest last year.

Police shot dead 34 striking miners near Wonderkop on August 16. Ten people, including two police officers, were killed in the preceding week.


Source : Sapa /nsm/hdw/dd/jk
Date : 14 May 2013 12:37
 
Police sent to Wonderkop Stadium

A large number of police were at Wonderkop stadium, in Marikana, North West, where Amcu members were expected to meet on Tuesday afternoon.

A water cannon, a number of police vans, and Nyalas were parked outside the stadium. Lonmin workers were bused in from all 13 shafts of the mine. Carrying knobkerries, sticks, and umbrellas they filed into the venue singing: "Police are dogs. They must leave."

Marikana made international headlines on August 16 when police shot dead 34 striking Lonmin miners while trying to disperse them. Ten people were killed the week before in strike-related violence.

Most workers gathered at the stadium on Tuesday wore green Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) T-shirts, or yellow T-shirts with the National Council of Trade Unions' emblem on the back.

Lonmin operations were disrupted on Tuesday morning as workers went on a wildcat strike, demanding the shutdown of the National Union of Mineworkers' (NUM) office at the mine.

One worker, Amos Maja, said the NUM was no longer a majority union at the mine and should give Amcu space to operate.

"We want Amcu to operate free[ly], that's why we want the office of the other union to be closed."

Lonmin confirmed operations were suspended on Tuesday morning because of the strike.

"We can confirm there is a stoppage. Workers arrived for work, but did not go underground. The reason for them not going underground is unclear," said company spokeswoman Sue Vey.

Strikers said they wanted police to arrest those responsible for murdering Amcu regional organiser Mawethu Steven, who was shot in Photsaneng, in the Nkaneng informal settlement, on Saturday.

"Police are here watching us while the murderers are roaming the streets. They must go down and track those killers," Maja said.

An NUM shop steward and his twin brother were also shot dead in Nkaneng on Saturday.

The Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) in Gauteng urged law enforcement agencies to focus on the area around Lonmin's Marikana mine.

"Our members are victimised each and every day," Gauteng Cosatu secretary Dumisani Dakile told reporters in Johannesburg.

Dakile said Cosatu was concerned about security in the area and he called on State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele to ensure the situation was under control.

"They must be able to deploy all necessary resources to make sure that particular area remains calm, and no one is injured, and no one is killed."

Earlier, NUM regional co-ordinator Mxhasi Sithethi said the situation at the mine was tense.

"People are singing outside our office, demanding the closure of the NUM office."


Source : Sapa /mm/mv/dd/th
Date : 14 May 2013 15:38
 
So they are undermining the mine because of a union?
So they will make the mine close down with the union's office?

Am I missing something?
 
Lonmin strike continues

The wildcat strike at Lonmin's platinum mine in Marikana, North West, continued on Wednesday, with workers demanding that the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) leave the premises.

Workers associated with the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) went on strike on Tuesday, demanding that the NUM's offices at the mine be shut down with immediate effect.

At Lonmin's platinum mine in Karee, near Marikana, workers stood in groups. Some of them were wrapped in blankets, and others carried knobkerries.

Worker Amos Maja said they wanted the NUM to leave the mine premises.

"[The] NUM must do the honourable thing and leave in peace," he said.

On Tuesday, Amcu branch chairman Mceli Balimani said Lonmin had refused to close the NUM's office, and had said the NUM had been given notice to vacate the office by July 3.

Striking workers agreed at a meeting at the Wonderkop stadium on Tuesday that they would report for duty, but would not go underground.

"We want to stop 'amagundwane' [rats] from going down," Maja said.

A group wielding knobkerries stood at the entrance to the Marikana West township, near the Karee mine.

"We are going there [to the shaft]. It is not yet over," said one of them.

In a list of grievances submitted to their leaders, Amcu members demanded an investigation into what they termed fraudulent membership of the NUM, and that the police arrest NUM members who they alleged carried weapons on mine premises.

They also wanted Lonmin to sign a recognition agreement with Amcu as the majority union.

Workers were expected to meet at the Wonderkop stadium later on Wednesday for a briefing by local Amcu leadership on progress made negotiating their demands.

Lonmin spokeswoman Sue Vey said there were no operations at the mine on Wednesday.

"Everything has come to a halt. Management is meeting with unions as we speak."

Brigadier Thulani Ngubani said no incidents had been reported at the mine.

Marikana was the centre of a wildcat strike in the platinum belt last year, with 44 people killed -- 34 of them at the hands of the police --in strike action.


Source : Sapa /mm/gm/clh
Date : 15 May 2013 09:42
 
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