the Marikana massacre affected families
*On August 16, 2012, the Marikana massacre occurred. This was the killing of thirty-four miners by the South African Police Service (SAPS) during a six-week wildcat strike at the Lonmin platinum mine at Marikana near Rustenburg in South Africa's Northwest province.
The episode occurred against a backdrop of antagonism between the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and its emerging rival, the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU). The NUM was the largest affiliate of the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu), which in turn was allied with South Africa's ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC). AMCU contributed many of the ANC's senior leaders.
According to many, the NUM's popularity had begun to decline under general secretary Frans Baleni. In the months and years leading up to the Marikana strike, AMCU had started to compete with the NUM for members and bargaining rights, especially in South Africa's platinum mines – the NUM's platinum sector had, during Baleni's tenure, become increasingly estranged from the NUM mainstream. In January and February 2012, a six-week strike at the Impala Platinum mine in Rustenberg, North West Province, turned hostile when the NUM accused AMCU of fueling the strike to gain members; four people died in the ensuing violence.
The strike that occasioned the massacre was held at the Marikana mine, a platinum mine in Marikana, Rustenberg, not far from the Impala mine where the earlier violence occurred. The mine was operated by Lonmin, the world's third-largest platinum producer. NUM's dominance in Lonmin mines had faltered in the preceding years: its membership had declined from 66 percent of Lonmin workers to 49 percent, and it had therefore lost its exclusive organizing rights in the mines. Simultaneously, AMCU's support had risen to roughly 20 percent of Lonmin workers. The massacre occurred on the seventh day of an unauthorized wildcat strike at the mine, which was launched without the endorsement of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM).
The strikers sought a wage increase to be negotiated outside the existing collective wage agreement. Early reports suggested that they had been encouraged by the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU). When the NUM refused to represent their demands and Lonmin refused to meet with them, the mineworkers launched the strike on August 10, 2012. On August 11, senior representatives of the NUM opened fire on the strikers as they marched towards the NUM's office; two wounded strikers were wrongly reported killed, vastly heightening tensions.
Between August 12 and August 14, violence escalated among the strikers, the SAPS, and private security officers employed by Lonmin. During this period, ten people were killed. Five of them – three strikers and two SAPS members – were killed in a single confrontation. In addition, two Lonmin security officers were killed, and three other Lonmin mine employees were killed in isolated incidents for which strikers are presumed to be responsible. The SAPS and the leadership of both the AMCU and the NUM initiated failed attempts to negotiate a peaceful resolution. The massacre was the result of the decision by SAPS to forcibly disperse the striking mineworkers, who throughout the week had gathered on a public place near the mine. The shooting took place at two locations, with 17 people fatally wounded at each location. The official figure for strikers injured during the shooting is 78.
The Lonmin strike ended on September 18, with a wage agreement securing wage increases of 11 to 22 percent for workers. The strikers returned to work on September 20. In the interim, however, similar wildcat strikes were initiated at other mines across South Africa. This wave of strikes led President Jacob Zuma to deploy the national military to the platinum-mining belt in mid-September. It collectively made 2012 the most protest-filled year in the country since the end of apartheid. In the aftermath of the massacre, 270 Lonmin mineworkers were arrested and charged with the murder of their colleagues on August 16; the charges were ultimately dropped amid public outcries.
An official commission of inquiry, chaired by retired judge Ian Farlam, concluded its investigation in 2015 but was unsure in assigning blame for the massacre, criticizing the police's strategy and actions but also criticizing the conduct of the strikers, unions, and mine management. The killings constituted the most lethal use of force by South African security forces against civilians since the Soweto uprising in 1976 and have been compared to the 1960 Sharpeville massacre.
