South Africa News

First Marikana massacre memorial lecture to be held in Joburg

The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (Amcu) will on Wednesday, host the inaugural memorial lecture for of slain Marikana mineworkers in Johannesburg.

The memorial lecture would be held at the Sandton Convention Centre from 8:30am to noon, and Western Cape High Court Judge President John Hlophe was expected to deliver the lecture.

The lecture is part of activities lined up ahead of the sixth anniversary of Marikana massacre commemoration on Thursday in Marikana near Rustenburg, North West.

Thirty-four mineworkers were killed on August 16, 2012 at Lonmin Marikana operations, when the police shot them at a koppie (a small hill in a generally flat area) near Nkaneng informal settlement, 78 injured and hundreds arrested.

The workers led by rock drill operators (RDOs) had waged a week-long wildcat strike demanding a minimum monthly salary of R12 500.

Marikana massacre

They rejected the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM), the dominant union at the time and elected a workers committee to represent them in putting their demands to Lonmin.

In total 44 people were killed during the violent strike, 10 people including two Lonmin security officers and two policemen were killed few days earlier.

The Marikana Support Campaign, Right2Know Campaign and Socio Economic Rights Institute also lined up activities leading to August 16, including the release of Institute for Security Studies (ISS) report which details what happened on the small koppie, or Scene 2.

The report would be released in Pretoria on Wednesday, a book launch is also planned in Parktown, Johannesburg on Wednesday afternoon.

A silent demonstration is planned at a venue, to be announced, while a candlelight memorial will be held at the Nelson Mandela Bridge in Braamfontein, in Johannesburg on Thursday.

Source: News24

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