9. April 2020
The Marikana massacre, which took place on 16 August 2012, was the most lethal use of force by South African security forces against civilians since 1976. The former union leader – Cyril Ramaphosa, from his position on the board of Lonmin, could have argued for negotiation, even for a better deal for the workers. Instead – as a chain of emails released to the Farlam inquiry disclosed – he argued for the police to move in. In a message to fellow directors, he wrote: „The terrible events that have unfolded cannot be described as a labour dispute. They are plainly dastardly criminal and must be characterised as such… There needs to be concomitant action to address this situation.“