By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
President Cyril Ramaphosa welcomes the judgement in the matter by workers seeking compensation against him and mine owners Sibanye Stillwater.
The main essence of the ruling was that a case could be made that Ramaphosa, Lonmin and the police colluded in the events that led to the killings.
The tragic events of August 2012 in Marikana that led to the death of 34 people remain one of the most distressing moments of the post democratic era.
The high court delivered its ruling on Friday, with the full bench upholding four of Ramaphosa’s exceptions, but rejected one.
In a statement Presidency highlighted four aspects of the High Court judgement need to be emphasised:
– First, the High Court agreed with the President’s arguments and held that the plaintiffs had not established that the President bore any legal duty in relation to the Marikana tragedy.
– Second, the court rejected the plaintiff’s argument that certain email communications from Ramaphosa sought to call for the murder of the striking workers.
– Third, the High Court agreed with the President that there was no factual basis pleaded for the allegation that collusion between the President, the Government and the senior police would have led to deaths of workers.
– Fourth, on the allegations that Ramaphosa owed a duty of care to the plaintiffs due to his role as director of Lonmin, the High Court agreed with the President that the allegation was incorrect as a matter of law.
Presidency has since dismissed the suggestion that the president was liable for the Marikana massacre.
“Disturbingly, is the ongoing politicisation of this tragedy leading to the unfair targeting and isolated allocation of responsibility to the President.”
On 16 August 2012 the South African Police Service (Saps) gunned down 34 striking miners at the Lonmin platinum mine in Marikana, North West. The violent clash made global headlines and was the most lethal use of state force in post-apartheid South Africa’s history.
At the time of the strike in 2012, Ramaphosa was not in government, but a businessman and board member at Lonmin, which was acquired by Sibanye Stillwater a few years ago.
Surviving Marikana employees are seeking millions in compensation. Claimants approached a number of legal representatives, with the claims being centralised to the State Attorney offices in Pretoria.
Judge Frits van Oosten on Friday upheld four of Ramaphosa’s exceptions, but rejected one, in which he found that Ramaphosa had taken part in, planned and endorsed the cooperation between Lonmin mine in Marikana and the SAPS, which had culminated in the deaths, injuries, arrests and detention of the striking mine workers.
“I agree, and it is accordingly my finding, that the plaintiffs have satisfied the test of legal causation,” said Van Oosten in a ruling which enables the surviving mine workers to hold Ramaphosa personally liable for what they suffered.
However Presidency said in the judgment the court said the allegations pleaded did not show Ramaphosa owed the plaintiffs legal duties and he therefore could not in law incur liability to the plaintiffs in delict in his capacity as director of Lonmin or in pursuit of his personal interests and those of Lonmin.
“Furthermore, the court made no finding that the President was in fact the cause of harmful conduct. The proceedings were not a trial, and no evidence was led. The court was merely engaged in a legal debate regarding whether the plaintiffs’ allegations complied with the law, “Presidency added.
Ramaphosa was elected ANC deputy president to former president Jacob Zuma in December 2012. He ascended to presidency after his election at the party’s conference in 2017.
Meanwhile the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) welcomes the recent High Court ruling and believes Ramaphosa has a case to answer as the alleged mastermind of the toxic collusion between the South African government and Sibanye-Stillwater (formerly Lonmin) which resulted in the massacre of workers in Marikana.