TEMPERS flared yesterday when NUM president Senzeni Zokwana was interrogated about e-mail correspondence between mine bosses at Lonmin and its former director Cyril Ramaphosa - a day before striking mine workers were gunned down by riot police.
Advocate Dali Mpofu, counsel for some of those injured and arrested during the tragic shootings on August 16, was on several occasions challenged or forced to abandon tough questions he posed to Zokwana.
At one point, Schalk Burger, counsel for NUM, irritably charged that Mpofu was just asking a "flippant question" - and not a serious one.
This after Mpofu had suggested that the government's deployment of the army to Lonmin was to kill strikers. Mpofu believes the death of the 34 miners at a koppie in Marikana was a result of "toxic collusion" between capital and state.
He argued that Lonmin dictated to government on how to act - or how to characterise the illegal strike - and that NUM had also been in an unholy alliance with Lonmin.
The e-mail correspondence - in which Zokwana is mentioned - will form the basis for his argument.
In one, dated August 15, Ramaphosa notified Lonmin's Roger Phillimore that he had engaged Zokwana about how to end the strike, and included plans to meet with him and NUM general secretary Frans Baleni and former president James Motlatsi.
But Zokwana told the commission his discussion with Ramaphosa was about "making the mine safer and preventing further deaths".
By that time, 10 people, including two police officers and security guards, had been killed.
Zokwana said this was the same discussion he had had with Police Minister Nathi Mthetwa on August 12 in which he also pushed for more police deployment after he learnt about the torching of guards in their patrol vehicle on that day.
He said he had not expected his conversation with Ramaphosa to form part of broader discussions about interventions at Lonmin. - nhlabathih@sowetan.co.za
Tempers fray at Marikana hearing
TEMPERS flared yesterday when NUM president Senzeni Zokwana was interrogated about e-mail correspondence between mine bosses at Lonmin and its former director Cyril Ramaphosa - a day before striking mine workers were gunned down by riot police.
Advocate Dali Mpofu, counsel for some of those injured and arrested during the tragic shootings on August 16, was on several occasions challenged or forced to abandon tough questions he posed to Zokwana.
At one point, Schalk Burger, counsel for NUM, irritably charged that Mpofu was just asking a "flippant question" - and not a serious one.
This after Mpofu had suggested that the government's deployment of the army to Lonmin was to kill strikers. Mpofu believes the death of the 34 miners at a koppie in Marikana was a result of "toxic collusion" between capital and state.
He argued that Lonmin dictated to government on how to act - or how to characterise the illegal strike - and that NUM had also been in an unholy alliance with Lonmin.
The e-mail correspondence - in which Zokwana is mentioned - will form the basis for his argument.
In one, dated August 15, Ramaphosa notified Lonmin's Roger Phillimore that he had engaged Zokwana about how to end the strike, and included plans to meet with him and NUM general secretary Frans Baleni and former president James Motlatsi.
But Zokwana told the commission his discussion with Ramaphosa was about "making the mine safer and preventing further deaths".
By that time, 10 people, including two police officers and security guards, had been killed.
Zokwana said this was the same discussion he had had with Police Minister Nathi Mthetwa on August 12 in which he also pushed for more police deployment after he learnt about the torching of guards in their patrol vehicle on that day.
He said he had not expected his conversation with Ramaphosa to form part of broader discussions about interventions at Lonmin. - nhlabathih@sowetan.co.za
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending
Latest Videos