Politicians 'used Marikana tragedy to campaign'

THE looming ANC leadership battle hovered like a dark cloud at the Johannesburg City Hall yesterday where the Gauteng government held a memorial service for the miners killed at Marikana.

Speaking at the service, National Union of Mineworkers president Senzeni Zokwana launched a scathing attack on politicians, including expelled ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema, of using the death of the miners at the hands of the police "to campaign for a particular outcome at Mangaung".

"Like vultures they descended on the scene denouncing the leadership of the ANC," said Zokwana, a known supporter of a second term for President Jacob Zuma.

Malema was the first politician to visit Marikana following the massacre, where he accused Zuma of being a failed leader.

Zokwana also suggested that the miners who were heavily armed during the confrontation with the police were misled by anarchists "who wanted to stick a sword in the heart of the ANC".

Zokwana, who is also SACP chairman, suggested that the striking miners were being used to promote the rival Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union at the expense of NUM.

Speaking at the service, Gauteng Premier Nomvula Mokonyane said South Africans should use the death of the miners in Marikana to find ways how citizens can enjoy the right to protest "peacefully."

• This article was first published in the printed newspaper and eEdition on 24 August 2012. Click on this link to view the eEdition