Remember Marikana – 10 years on . . .

Today marks 10 years of Marikana Massacre. Since the massacre, nothing has changed at the North West mining town of Marikana. Residents are still struggling to get basic service delivery issues. Today we commemorate 10 years of the massacre.

The massacre was the culmination of a series of violent encounters between the SAPS, Lonmin security, and members of th

National Union of Mine Workers(NUM) on one side; and strikers on the other. The first incidents occurred on 11 August, when NUM leaders opened fire on NUM members who were on strike, resulting in two strikers being seriously wounded.During the period from 12 August to 14 August, ten people were killed, including six mine workers, two Lonmin security guards, and two SAPS members. Three of the mine workers, and the two SAPS members, were killed in a clash between strikers and SAPS members on the afternoon of 13 August. The remaining five people are known to or believed to have been killed by strikers.

The killings on 16 August took place at two locations, roughly 500 metres away from each other, with seventeen people fatally wounded at each of these locations. The vast majority of fatalities were killed by R5 assault rifile fire. The official figure for strikers injured during the shooting is 78.