According to the commission of inquiry into the shooting, President Jacob Zuma said the commission has found that it cannot be said that Ramaphosa was the cause of the massacre and the accusations against him are groundless.
But the EFF said it “assembled a team of best legal minds in the country to study the report and the leadership collective will soon meet to establish a way forward. We can guarantee all South Africans that EFF will never rest until those responsible, particularly the political elite that presided over the police, including Cyril Ramaphosa, are prosecuted and sent to jail.”
An email released to the commission showed that Ramaphosa advised mine bosses that the strike was criminal and urged “concomitant action” to address the situation.
The EFF says the finding of the Farlam Commission is a sad disappointment and a shock. “The EFF shall take action because it cannot be that the political elite thinks it is above our constitution and democracy. Our justice system must be able to subject anyone, no matter who they are to prosecution and hold them accountable for their crimes. This particularly important if we are speaking about crimes against humanity because the Marikana Massacre is and will always be a crime against humanity.”
The DA seems to agree. The party said in a statement it will also fight to hold those responsible for the massacre in 2012 to account, including those who used their political influence to bring the strike to a conclusion. “Our focus will be on making sure that those who were directly affected by the tragedy are compensated for their loss or injury, and to ensure that this is tragedy is never allowed to happen again. The widows of those who perished must see justice for the loss of their loved ones, many of whom were breadwinners.”
