(Delwyn Verasamy/M&G)
Congress of the People MP Willie Madisha branding the ruling party as “witches”, while the Economic Freedom Fighters called for more people to be held accountable.
In a span debate in Parliament on Thursday on the Marikana commission of Inquiry report, parties called for more action to be taken by the government in memory of the 44 lives lost in August 2012.
Speaking right through “points of orders” raised by the ruling party right through his speech, EFF leader Julius Malema opened the debate by labelling the Marikana massacre as premeditated murder.
“Marikana was a murder that was facilitated in clear daylight, and under the political influence and supervision of politicians many of whom continue to enjoy privileges of this house. Bureaucrats and ground forces of this murderous regime must not be the only ones that take the fall for the crime of Marikana.
“There must not be another Eugene De Kock who gets sacrificed for all the political sins of the apartheid regime and political principals are celebrated as peacemakers,” he said.
Malema called Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa a murderer and accused the ANC government of colluding with him to commit “the crimes”. Calling for the families of the Marikana miners to receive houses, health care and education, Madisha said he agreed with the EFF that the victims had to be compensated.
“The people in Marikana must get proper education facilities. The injured must get continued health assistance. All the remaining people, not only in Marikana, but even beyond our borders, have got to be assisted. But Apartheid has come back. And ANC is a terrible, terrible, terrible organization. You are terrible ANC, le baloyi [witches in Sepedi],” he finished off.
The ANC fiercely objected to being labelled witches and said it was unparliamentary. Democratic Alliance leader Mmusi Maimane said the Marikana Report showed the extent to which members of the Executive used their political influence to protect the interest of the mine owners.
“We may never know the full truth behind the chain of events that ended with the death of 34 miners on August 16, but it is clear that there was a conscious decision that a loss of life was both a likely and acceptable outcome. Regardless of what the financial value of a miner may be, to those involved in making the decision that led to the massacre, their lives were worthless.
“Those miners were deemed expendable if it meant bringing an end to the strike. That is the real crime. President Zuma’s government does not value the lives of all South Africans equally,” Maimane said.
ANC MP Francois Beukman said the party was committed to the implementation of the Farlam recommendations. He said the recommendations would have repercussions for the SAPS and in particular the management, and the public order policing. The Farlam commission of inquiry, set up to investigate the Marikana massacre in 2012, recommended in its report released last month that the national commissioner face an inquiry into her fitness to hold office.
“The report made very clear recommendations on the role of police management, the current national commissioner and the former provincial commissioner for North West. We take these recommendations very seriously indeed,” Beukman said.
DA MP Dianne Kohler-Barnard called for the removal of Phiyega, a sentiment that was echoed by Inkatha Freedom Party MP Albert Mncwango.