JOHANNESBURG
(Reuters) - Families of 34 striking South African miners shot dead in
2012 called on Tuesday for police who fired on them to be prosecuted as a
judicial enquiry into what is known as the "Marikana massacre" neared
its end.
Police involved in the country's bloodiest security incident since
apartheid say they were acting in self-defense when they opened fire on
miners carrying out a wildcat strike at Lonmin's mine in Marikana.
The two-year investigation into the Aug. 16, 2012
shootings is expected to wrap up this week, before retired judge Ian
Farlam files his recommendations to President Jacob Zuma's office by
March.
"We are
recommending a full criminal investigation into the actions of the
police," said Dumisani Ntsebeza, a lawyer representing the families of
the deceased miners.
In the gallery, widows and mothers of the dead miners cried and
covered their faces when graphic pictures of the shattered faces of the
workers were shown during the closing arguments.
"The commission brings up bad memories. It feels it
happened yesterday," said 43-year-old widow Mathabang Ntsenyeko. "Right
now we have nothing at home, we don't have any money coming in, we don't
work."
As well
as probing the shootings, the Marikana commission has a broader remit
to look into labor relations, pay and accommodation in South Africa's
mines - issues seen as spurring the wildcat strike that preceded the
killings.
The probe into what widely is known as the "Marikana massacre" has put political pressure on Zuma and his team.
Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, a trade
unionist-turned-billionaire, was accused of putting political pressure
on the police to end the restive strike, which had resulted in nine
deaths before the police shooting.
Ramaphosa, who was a Lonmin director at the time of the
shooting, said he was in contact with Lonmin leadership and the
ministers of police and mining during the strike but only to help
prevent further loss of life.