State settles more than R330m in Marikana claims

Government has paid more than R330m in claims regarding the Marikana massacre lodged by the victims, solicitor-general Fhedzisani Pandelani said at a media briefing in Tshwane on Thursday. 

More than 34 miners were killed when police opened fire at the striking Lonmin workers more than 11 years ago.

Pandelani said the massacre remains a significant and solemn chapter in SA’s postdemocratic history. 

“People are still impacted emotionally and it casts a sombre shadow over the tragic clash between the striking miners and law enforcement, resulting in multiple fatalities,” he said.

Claims for compensation were lodged by the Wits Law Clinic; the Socio-Economic Rights Institute of SA (SERI); Maluleke, Msimang & Associates; Tlhatlha Attorneys; and Nkome Attorneys.

On a breakdown of the claims, Pandelani said the Wits Law Clinic matter was finalised in 2021 and was paid out R3,995,121 plus costs.

SERI, representing miners’ families, secured settlements for loss of support amounting to R71,230,491.

Maluleke, Msimang & Associates, which represented 15 claimants, was paid out R77,034,643 in total.

Pandelani said the progress of payments to Tlhatlha Attorneys, which handled matters relating to assault and gunshots, is under way with certain claims still undergoing verification.

Nkome Attorneys, which claimed for plaintiffs that were arrested and detained, received R102,305,000, which Pandelani said pertains to 10 of the 12 cases lodged with the state. 

New issue

SERI has now introduced the possible issue of constitutional damages, which Pandelani said is a new concept that raises issues such as emotional damages.

“A new issue has been raised now on constitutional litigation. We are not dealing with that issue as it was not dealt with at first. For all intents and purposes until there is a [new] issue presented before a court of law, I think we have done enough.”

“I do not have any further mandate on constitutional damages. We cannot invent a new issue and find more money to pay,” Pandelani said.

What is still unclear is whether measures have been taken to improve public order policing, and how many of the recommendations on the policing system by the the Marikana Commission of Inquiry lead by judge Ian Farlam have been implemented.

Meanwhile, Neal Froneman, CEO of Sibanye-Stillwater, which took over Lonmin a year after the Marikana tragedy, said the company’s community upliftment project put it on the “right side” of history.

“We have been promoting the concept of stakeholder capitalism since 2013 and stakeholder capitalism is about an appropriate way of sharing value and not seeing community upliftment as a hardship and not seeing employment of so many people within our business as a huge risk,” Froneman told a virtual Marikana memorial lecture earlier this week. 

omarjeeh@businesslive.co.za