A just fight goes on

TOP ADVOCATE Dumisa Ntsebeza may at last have ignited the fight for true justice for the families of the Marikana victims with his powerful words at the commemoration of the massacre on Sunday. A trustee of the Nelson Mandela Foundation, who was the acting chairman and head of the investigation unit of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Ntsebeza carries considerable weight.

He has now placed retired Judge Ian Farlam – who chaired the government’s inquiry into the deaths of at least 44 people at Marikana three years ago – and the state, with all its posturing around who is to blame, against a poor community that’s an index of so many others. And that poor community is likely to have the support of many thousands of other South Africans, who may agree that far too little was achieved by Farlam. They are asking why.

Many still feel, for instance, that Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa and mining company Lonmin, which had Ramaphosa on its board, were let off the hook. A series of e-mails between Ramaphosa and Lonmin in the days before the killings suggested Ramaphosa may have been too close to the events. But that correspondence seemed to have little effect on Farlam.

Critics of the report want to understand whether there was a proper investigation into this aspect. They would also have liked to see a closer probe of the so-called sweetheart relationship between the government and big business, in this case Lonmin. Now some, inspired by Ntsebeza, are calling for a judicial review of the inquiry, propelled by the advocate calling the report “a disgrace”.

It’s not a surprise that the Presidency has, in turn, called Ntsebeza’s remarks “shocking”. It has been suddenly defensive of the judiciary, saying an attack from a senior member of the legal profession was unacceptable. But we hear Ntsebeza, and so many others connected to the tragedy, when they say the government has been too silent on compensation and accountability.

And so, with the government likely to face court action by December on this matter, we say we can all wait for justice – as long as it comes.