Cape Town – The ANC has cautioned against using the 2012 Marikana massacre for political gain during South Africa’s 11th anniversary commemorations of the tragic event.
The mining strike, which led to the massacre, resulted in the deaths of 38 miners, two police officers, and two security officers, with 78 miners injured.
According to Times Live, the ANC spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri condemned the exploitation of the tragedy for opportunistic populism and misinformation, stressing that it hinders healing and national unity.
“The ANC condemns the use of the Marikana tragedy as a political tool. Insensitive and opportunistic populism and deliberate peddling of misinformation about the tragedy and its aftermath is regrettable.
ALSO READ | South Africans rally to mark Marikana massacre 10th anniversary
“It is done at the expense of healing and national unity in a desperate attempt to gain political mileage,” the report quoted Bhengu-Motsiri as saying.
She said that the ANC stands together with millions of South Africans in recalling the occurrences of August 12 to 16, 2012.
Meanwhile, according to 702, the Socio-Economic Rights Institute says the government must issue an apology to the families and survivors affected by the Marikana massacre.
“It is quite strange that no one from the state, not former President Jacob Zuma, nor Cyril Ramaphosa, has gone to the families and actually just acknowledged what happened to them. They lost their loved ones in the most tragic and brutal way.
“A key part of restorative justice is some kind of acknowledgement,” the report quoted Thato Masiangoako, a researcher with the institute as saying.
An official inquiry placed much of the blame for the deaths on police tactics, finding that an operation to remove the miners should not have gone ahead.
It cleared senior government officials of any culpability.
Follow African Insider on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
Picture: Twitter/@FloydShivambu
For more African news, visit Africaninsider.com
Compiled by Betha Madhomu
Additional reporting by AFP
