Marikana massacre

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Lonmin Strike
The EPC section of Lonmin Platinum, with Bapong in the foreground
Date	10 August 2012 (2012-08-10) – 20 September 2012 (2012-09-20)
Location	Lonmin Marikana mine Marikana, Rustenburg North West, South Africa
Resulted in	11–22% wage increase
Parties
Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union Unaffiliated miners National Union of Mineworkers Lonmin private security South African Police Service
Casualties and losses
12–14 August: 6 mineworkers dead 16 August: 34 mineworkers dead (78 mineworkers injured) Total: 40 deaths 76 injured 12–14 August: 2 policemen, 2 security guards dead

The Marikana massacre was the killing of thirty-four miners by the South African Police Service (SAPS) on 16 August 2012 during a six-week wildcat strike at the Lonmin platinum mine at Marikana near Rustenburg in South Africa's North West province. The massacre constituted the most lethal use of force by South African security forces against civilians since the Soweto uprising in 1976^[1] and has been compared to the 1960 Sharpeville massacre.^[2][3][4]

The massacre occurred on the seventh day of an unauthorized wildcat strike at the mine which was launched without the endorsement of the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM). The strikers sought a wage increase to be negotiated outside the existing collective wage agreement. Early reports suggested that they had been encouraged by the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU). When the NUM refused to represent their demands and Lonmin refused to meet with them, the mineworkers launched the strike on 10 August 2012. On 11 August, senior representatives of the NUM opened fire on the strikers as they marched towards the NUM's office; two wounded strikers were wrongly reported killed, vastly heightening tensions.

Between 12 August and 14 August, violence escalated among the strikers, the SAPS, and private security officers employed by Lonmin. During this period, ten people were killed. Five of them – three strikers and two SAPS members – were killed in a single confrontation on 13 August. In addition, two Lonmin security officers were killed on 12 August, and three other Lonmin mine employees were killed in isolated incidents for which strikers are presumed to be responsible. Failed attempts to negotiate a peaceful resolution were launched by SAPS and the leadership of both AMCU and the NUM.

The massacre on 16 August was the result of the decision by SAPS forcibly to disperse the striking mineworkers, who throughout the week had gathered on a public koppie (Afrikaans for a small hilltop) neighbouring the mine. The shooting took place at two locations, with 17 people fatally wounded at each location. The official figure for strikers injured during the shooting is 78.

The Lonmin strike ended on 18 September with a wage agreement securing an 11 to 22 percent wage increase for workers. The strikers returned to work on 20 September. In the interim, however, similar wildcat strikes were initiated at other mines across South Africa. This wave of strikes led President Jacob Zuma to deploy the national military to the platinum-mining belt in mid-September and collectively made 2012 the most protest-filled year in the country since the end of apartheid.^[5]

In the aftermath of the massacre, 270 Lonmin mineworkers were arrested and charged with the murder of their colleagues on 16 August; the charges were ultimately dropped amid public outcry. An official commission of inquiry, chaired by retired judge Ian Farlam, concluded its investigation in 2015 but was ambivalent in assigning blame for the massacre, criticising the police's strategy and actions but also criticising the conduct of the strikers, unions, and mine management.