18 Jul Marikana massacre claims matter not even at the halfway stage yet, says lawyer

Negotiations with the State to reach a settlement in 53 matters in which victims were injured and arrested in Marikana had not yet reached the halfway mark. Picture: File

Published Aug 17, 2022

Pretoria – As the country yesterday commemorated the 10th anniversary of the August 16, 2012 Marikana Massacre, negotiations with the State to reach a settlement in 53 matters in which victims were injured and arrested had not yet reached the halfway mark.

Lawyer Andries Nkome, who represents some of the claimants, said while they had been in constant negotiations with the police during this round of claims before the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, it seemed that some of these matters would only be disposed of at a later stage.

“We have only been able to settle 23 of the 53 matters being handled by the three different lawyers,” Nkome yesterday said.

There are three law firms involved who represent different claimants.

Nkome said one firm handled 27 claims, another 12, and another handled 14, thus making it 53 in total.

Solicitor-General Fhedzisani Pandelani, during a media briefing last week, said 48 matters were before court, but there appeared to be slightly more.

The claims against the police instituted by the victims and their families who were injured by the police, and some who were arrested on the day, have been considered by the SAPS legal team over the past three weeks.

They have been in constant negotiations in court with the teams representing the victims in a bid to find common ground.

While Deputy Judge President Aubrey Ledwaba had made orders in respect to 23 of the claims, as per agreement between the parties, Nkome confirmed that the three weeks allocated by the court to finalise the damage value calculations would come to an end on Friday.

But it was not expected that agreements would be reached in all of the matters before the Friday deadline.

Judge Ledwaba, however, a week ago while making some of the settlements an order of court, said he was at that stage satisfied with the progress made in the matters.

He referred three matters to another judge last week to hear arguments, where it was clear that the State and the legal teams for some of the victims could not find common ground as to how much compensation should be awarded.

None of the 53 matters were contested on grounds of liability, as the State had earlier agreed that the victims were entitled to compensation.

The question remaining was how much money they should receive.

Nkome remained mum on the issue of how much the claims, which had already been settled during this leg of the proceedings, amounted to.

Pandelani told the media last week that the State had paid about R75m to the families of those who were killed.

The wage strike 10 years ago led to the death of 34 miners, after the police opened fire on them.

To date, no one has faced criminal charges over the tragedy.

It’s been a seven-year legal battle by the Marikana mineworkers to sue President Cyril Ramaphosa, Sibanye-Stillwater and the government for almost R1 billion.

The legal battle for compensations which involves Ramaphosa is expected to proceed at a later date in the high court in Joburg. Apart from compensation, the miners and their families want an apology from Ramaphosa for what happened that day.

Full article on iol.co.za