Marikana stain stays

Yesterday marked 12 years since the Marikana massacre, when 34 mineworkers were shot and killed during and no-one has been convicted yet, despite an extensive probe a protest The miners were shot on 16 August 2012 by police who were trying to disperse the striking Lonmin mineworkers, demanding a salary of R12 500 a month.

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A week before the massacre, 10 people, including two police officers and two Lonmin security guards, were killed.

The Marikana Commission of Inquiry recommended a full investigation to hold police officers involved in the killings accountable, but that has not happened 12 years later.

According to the Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (Seri), the massacre was the most lethal use of force by South African security forces against civilians since the Soweto uprising on 16 June, 1976.

Seri has been at the forefront of the legal battle between some of the families of the mineworkers and the state.

In August last year, department of justice's solicitor-general, Fhedzisani Pandelani, announced that the government had paid more than R330 million in claims related to the massacre.