‘Surrendering miners shot’
POLICE shot dead unarmed, surrendering mine staff, a worker told the Farlam commission of inquiry yesterday as he gave horrific details of the manner in which people were killed.
POLICE shot dead unarmed miners surrendering on August 16 2012, miner Shadrack Mtshamba told the Farlam commission of inquiry yesterday.
Mr Mtshamba, one of 271 striking miners arrested after police shot dead 34 striking miners at Lonmin’s Marikana platinum mine two years ago, gave horrific details of the manner in which people were killed at what is commonly referred to as the “killing koppie”, or scene two.
He also gave a disturbing account of his arrest, which included being deprived of food for more than 24 hours, experiencing random beatings and being kept in police armoured vehicles without access to toilets or water on Lonmin premises immediately after their arrests until the early hours of August 17.
“Some of us had to use the openings in the hippos (police vehicles) to urinate,” said Mr Mtshamba.
During Mr Mtshamba’s evidence, lawyer for the miners arrested on August 16, Adv Dali Mpofu, screened police photographs of some arrested miners showing severe facial injuries and severe blood-letting.
Mr Mtshamba said he ran to scene two after observing police opening fire and killing 17 miners at scene one, a kraal near Nkaneng informal settlement.
He had been hiding out with several other miners at scene two when one of his colleagues had decided to surrender: “He shouted out, let us surrender…. He was the first one to raise his hands … and he was shot in his lower right hand. After the shot was fired, he fell down but kept saying ‘Let us surrender’, but he was shot again in the stomach and then the third bullet was fired and hit him in the leg, and he fell down,” said Mr Mtshamba.
Another miner also trying to surrender was “shot in the region of the neck and below the knee and he fell face down. We all then became very afraid to surrender.”
Evidence leader Adv Matthew Chaskalson asked Mr Mtshamba whether the trauma of observing the killings may have affected his memory as none of the dead miners in his vicinity at scene two had wounds on their arms or hands. Mr Mtshamba conceded this may have been the case, and that the miner he had seen shot in the arm was not the one shot in the stomach and leg, and that the former may have escaped or been arrested. He said the incident had caused him nightmares, which may have also affected his recall.
During the leading of his evidence by Mr Mpofu, Mr Mtshamba also said he had heard police gloating about who they had killed and how they had done so.
“We were ordered to crawl to the armoured vehicles. I saw people being hit, ... and they were asked ‘Where is the sangoma?’” said Mr Mtshamba.
He continues his testimony today.