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A major row is brewing over the release of a presidential proclamation that bans the commission into the Marikana massacre from investigation possible government complicity.
The proclamation (no.30 of 2014) was signed by President Jacob Zuma on 25 April. The proclamation deletes clause 1.5 from the commission’s terms of reference about who and what it should investigate.
The clause reads: “The role played by the Department of Mineral Resources or other government department or agency in relation to the incident and whether this was appropriate in the circumstances and consistent with their duties and obligations according to law.”
Families
Since evidence so far led at the commission has not revealed who authorised that 4 000 rounds of live ammunition be sent to Marikana on the morning of 16 August 2012 massacre and that mortuary vans should be ordered in advance.
As Advocate Dumisa Ntsebeza, who represents families of miners killed at Marikana has noted: “Somebody must have given the orders.”
Former Intelligence minister Ronnie Kasrils, for whom Marikana was a political watershed, agrees.
He said: “And if the police acted without orders, what are we dealing with?”
Deletion
It was the killings at Marikana that led Kasrils and a number of other formerly loyal ANC members to initiate the Sidikiwe-Vukani campaign before the election “in an effort to stop the rot”.
Commission head, Judge Ian Farlam, announced the deletion of clause 1.5 in a matter of fact way on 30 April 30 and it went largely unnoticed.
The announcement was only picked up a week later and circulated. However, the proclamation (of which Fin24 has a copy) was signed on 25 April by President Jacob Zuma and by Justice Minister Jeff Radebe who is listed as “Minister of the cabinet (sic)”.
Te
The proclamation (no.30 of 2014) was signed by President Jacob Zuma on 25 April. The proclamation deletes clause 1.5 from the commission’s terms of reference about who and what it should investigate.
The clause reads: “The role played by the Department of Mineral Resources or other government department or agency in relation to the incident and whether this was appropriate in the circumstances and consistent with their duties and obligations according to law.”
Families
Since evidence so far led at the commission has not revealed who authorised that 4 000 rounds of live ammunition be sent to Marikana on the morning of 16 August 2012 massacre and that mortuary vans should be ordered in advance.
As Advocate Dumisa Ntsebeza, who represents families of miners killed at Marikana has noted: “Somebody must have given the orders.”
Former Intelligence minister Ronnie Kasrils, for whom Marikana was a political watershed, agrees.
He said: “And if the police acted without orders, what are we dealing with?”
Deletion
It was the killings at Marikana that led Kasrils and a number of other formerly loyal ANC members to initiate the Sidikiwe-Vukani campaign before the election “in an effort to stop the rot”.
Commission head, Judge Ian Farlam, announced the deletion of clause 1.5 in a matter of fact way on 30 April 30 and it went largely unnoticed.
The announcement was only picked up a week later and circulated. However, the proclamation (of which Fin24 has a copy) was signed on 25 April by President Jacob Zuma and by Justice Minister Jeff Radebe who is listed as “Minister of the cabinet (sic)”.
Te
