Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Denel widow hopes for clarity
THE WIFE of a supervisor who died in the 2018 Rheinmetall Denel Munition (RDM) explosion which claimed the lives of eight workers and injured one is hopeful that a final report expected in June will indicate who or what was responsible.
The Department of Employment and Labour were appointed to investigate the events of September 2018.
A total of 26 witnesses testified, including technical experts, former employees and current staff and investigators. Information about the testimonies of the final six witnesses has not made public as yet.
This week the last six witnesses took went before the commission.
They are, however, awaiting the testimony and insight of the former RDM CEO, Norbert Schulze, but have been unable to locate him.
The commission’s presiding officer, Mphumzi Dyulete, has to determine whether the report is final after communication has been completed with lawyers of the company.
An outcome on the report is expected in June which will reveal their findings in terms of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
The last hearings took place on Monday at the Macassar Civic Centre.
Also at the hearing was Lawrencia
Samuels, widow of Nico Samuels, who had been the supervisor at the plant.
Mapula Tloubatla, provincial communications officer for the Department of Labour, said the department would produce a final report by June
and that closing arguments would be submitted by the legal teams representing the employer and the families.
Dyulete said communicating with the lawyers of the employer was crucial after they were unable to reach the former CEO.
“Should it be that this is our last sitting, I will start with the analysis of all the evidence to compile a report which I will submit to the national chief inspector,” he said.
Dyulete said although this was a long journey which was further extended by the Covid-19 restrictions, it was important for the commission to hear testimony from all interested parties to determine what could have transpired “on that fateful day”.
“Parties representing the employer and families will submit their closing arguments to the presiding officer to incorporate in the final report, ” Tloubatla added.
Samuels, who now cares for the couple’s four children, said she was keen to hear the outcome.
It emerged during testimonies that Nico had carried explosives inside his private vehicle and had been in the process of replacing a valve at N16 where the explosion took place.
Samuels, who has not been a witness, has been keen to clear her husband’s name.
She previously indicated that her husband had told her before the incident that he had warned his employers not to replace the valve as there was nothing wrong with the old one.
“It has been a waiting game and as a family we are glad that it has come this far,” she said this week.
“Now we are waiting on the Department of Labour to finish their report, so we can have closure on what happened, on who or what was responsible or not.”