‘Police must be held to account’
Rights group asks why no one has been prosecuted
salary of R12 500.
Kopano, 32, married Marorisang 11 years ago following his father’s advice that “a man is a man because of his wife”.
After his father’s death Kopano was absorbed into Lonmin as part of the company’s remedy to replace the deceased at work with their widows and children.
He works for Lonmin Game Farm in Mooinooi, North West, while his wife, mother and older sister are based in Matatiele, Eastern Cape.
Kopano said his father was into agriculture and he missed seeing him working the land.
“Whenever he went home, he would start sowing tomato, spinach and maize seeds. This has also inspired me to sow vegetables whenever I am home,” he said.
Kopano said when his father died he almost lost his mind.
“I started feeling like my life had no purpose. It is still hard to accept and believe that my father is no more,” he said.
However, Kopano is still demanding justice for his father.
“I feel bad that the policemen who shot my father are yet to be prosecuted. Whenever I see the police officers I feel disgusted,” he said. The wheels of justice must be fast tracked for victims of the Marikana tragedy.
Commenting on the eve of the fifth anniversary of the tragedy that left 34 miners dead and at least 70 injured when police opened fire during a mining strike‚ following a week of heightened tensions‚ Amnesty International yesterday asked why no one had been prosecuted and why compensation has not been awarded to the families of the dead and those injured.
“The tragedy of the Marikana killings is compounded by the shocking fact that no one responsible for the bloodshed has yet been held accountable‚” said Shehnilla Mohamed‚ executive director of Amnesty Inminimum ternational South Africa.
The shooting occurred on August 16 2012.
She said if the government wanted to demonstrate that it was committed to truth and human rights‚ it must ensure that the wheels of justice start turning far faster than they have done over the past five years.
In March‚ police watchdog the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) identified 72 police officers for prosecution in relation to their roles in the killings.
“The dockets were submitted to the National Prosecuting Authority in May. To date‚ however‚ no police officers involved have been prosecuted‚” Mohamed said.
Last month‚ Amnesty International met with some of the victims at Nkaneng informal settlement‚ where the lobby group said they still live in squalid conditions.
Mohammed said many of them expressed anger and disappointment that so little had changed in the five years since the killings.