Marikana: Some shot miners may've been cuffed

2012-11-05 15:27

Marikana inquiry (Picture: Sapa)

Lucas Ledwaba, City Press

Rustenburg - Evidence has emerged that some of the 34 Marikana slain may have been shot with their hands cuffed behind their backs.

Advocate Dali Mpofu said during cross examination of police forensic expert, Captain Apollo Jeremiah Mohlaki, that two of the bodies seen in footage from a police video appeared to be lying face down with their hands tied behind them.

In the video, shot at the scene known as Klein Koppie where 18 of the 34 were killed, bodies are seen strewn across the veld and between rocks.

Members of the public, including family members and widows of the deceased, watched in horror as graphic images of the dead were shown.

A ripple of disbelief swept through the auditorium when police videographers were heard laughing as they moved through the bodies.

Earlier, the cries of family members of victims of the 16 August shooting tore through the Rustenburg Civic Centre auditorium, forcing the brief adjournment of proceedings at the Marikana Commission of Inquiry.

This happened after it emerged that the body of Thobile Mpumza, was riddled with 12 bullets.

Family members broke down, leading to commission chairperson Judge Ian Farlam, calling for a brief adjournment.

The commission resumed 10 minutes later, and a resolution was taken that the bodies will be referred to only by the letters they were identified with by forensic experts who investigated the scene.

The hearing continues.

- City Press