A court decision to drop charges against former North West deputy police commissioner William Mpembe and three other police officers linked to the Marikana massacre has raked open old wounds, say Eastern Cape families who lost loved ones.
The North West high court withdrew charges against Mpembe, Brig Jacobus van Zyl, Brig Dingaan Madoda, and Lt-Col Oupa Pule.
They had been charged in connection with the death in police custody of Modisaotsile Sagalala.
The charge was defeating the ends of justice for failing to report Sagalala’s death in custody.
Reacting to the court ruling, Eastern Cape families said it felt like the justice system was failing victims of the massacre and their grieving families.
Nandipha Gunuza, who attended the court proceedings in North West on Monday, said it was difficult to find closure when a court let people off the hook.
She lost her husband, Bonginkosi Yona, 32, in the August 2021 massacre, when 34 miners were gunned down by SA police. It was the most lethal use of force by SA security forces against civilians since 1976.
The couple had two children together.
“It opened old wounds. We had hoped people would get prosecuted. However, we still hope that justice will prevail one day,” she said.
Speaking from the North West, Sagalala’s son, Hendrik, told DispatchLIVE he was bitterly disappointed.
Hendrik said it felt like the court had “sided” with the police at the expense of the victims and their families.
“It looks like there’s a coverup. We want to see the people who are responsible getting arrested.”
Trade union Amcu president Joseph Mathunjwa told DispatchLIVE on Tuesday that the police could not “exclusively” be blamed.
Mathunjwa said police acted on instructions from people in higher positions of power.
“The question is: whose instructions were they following? Will we see the NPA appealing the outcome?
“But if it was an instruction given by seniors there will be no arrests.
“Who were the masterminds behind this massacre? Yes, we know who pulled the trigger. But who gave Mpembe permission to take such a decision?”
NPA spokesperson Sipho Ngwema could not be reached at the time of writing.
His phone was on voicemail and he had not responded to a message by print deadline on Tuesday.
DispatchLIVE understands that court cases involving other victims have not been finalised.
DispatchLIVE
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