On 16 August 2012 the South African police shot dead 34 platinum miners on strike for a living wage from their employer Lonmin, a descendant of notorious UK company Lonrho, founded during Cecil Rhodes’ brutal white settler colonial occupation of southern Africa.
Join us and Marikana Solidarity Collective UK on 16 August at 16:00 at the South African Embassy in London to remember those who were killed and to demand justice. Here are the demands of the solidarity collective:
• No police ever convicted
Evidence submitted to the subsequent Farlam commission showed that the police planned the massacre. It demonstrated a clear chain of command from the ANC government to police commissioners to operational commanders. But Farlam was weak and exonerated the ANC. No minister or police has ever been convicted for the killings.
• Ramaphosa has never gone to Marikana to apologise
South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa was on the board of Lonmin as a top ANC man. He pressurised the government to order the police action. He has never visited Marikana or met with the workers’ widows to apologise. They are in poverty, he is a billionaire.
• The London financiers have evaded all responsibility
Lonmin was 25% owned by Swiss/UK company Glencore, with another 26% of shareholders from the UK. It was heavily supported by London based investment banks. None of these financiers has ever been held to account. Since the company was sold to Sibanye-Stillwater in 2019, conditions have got even worse.
Convened by Marikana Solidarity Collective. Sponsored by London Mining Network, Pan Afrikan Society Community Forum, Women of Colour (Global Women’s Strike, on behalf of international Global Women’s Strike), Caribbean Labour Solidarity and Hands Off Uhuru! Hands Off Africa!
Bring Your Voices and Yellow Flowers!