{"id":110185,"date":"2019-10-10T18:45:11","date_gmt":"2019-10-10T17:45:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/?p=110185"},"modified":"2019-12-03T08:43:34","modified_gmt":"2019-12-03T07:43:34","slug":"fast-facts-marikana-massacre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buzzsouthafrica.com\/fast-facts-marikana-massacre\/","title":{"rendered":"The Truth About Marikana Massacre: Everything You Need To Know"},"content":{"rendered":"
The Marikana Massacre is one of two of South Africa’s most gruesome cases of its police using lethal force on civilians. The incident occurred between the dates of August 10 and September 20, 2012, when striking workers at a mine owned by Lonmin in the Marikana area, clashed with police officers, leading to the death of 47 people.<\/p>\n
Much of the controversy surrounding the Marikana Massacre was not only the fact that a majority of the victims were not in active confrontation with the police or even close to police lines when they were shot, but that they were also shot in the back. This suggests that they were running from the cops and were being hunted down like animals. Eyewitness reports and an official statement from the police, however, confirmed that the police only reacted after they were shot at by a worker with a shotgun. Some other protesters were found holding other weapons, one of which was found to have belonged to a police officer that was killed a few days before the incident.<\/p>\n
The incident gained international following afterward with reports indicating that both the South African Police Service and Lonmin security had participated in the shootings. In addition to the 47 deaths recorded at the end of the ordeal, 78 other workers were also injured.<\/p>\n
The President of South Africa at the time of the incident, Jacob Zuma, was in Mozambique during the killings. He was said to have expressed shock and dismay at the violence as he urged trade unions and the government to work together to put the unfortunate event to rest before it spiraled even further out of control.<\/p>\n
The day after the incident, he traveled to the location of the Marikana massacre and ordered a formal inquiry into the matter. But despite his supposed distraughtness and declaration of a week of national mourning over the incident, Zuma never actually got himself to apologize to the families of those that lost their lives.<\/p>\n
Nosiviwe Noluthando Mapisa-Nqakula, the country’s Defense Minister at the time, was the first official from the South African government to apologize to the miners, stating, \u201c\u2026as a representative of the government, I apologize…I am begging, I beg and I apologize, may you find forgiveness in your hearts.\u201d<\/p>\n