South Africa: Marikana Massacre 14 Years On - Victims' Families Still Await Criminal Accountability

What the report says

Fourteen years after the Marikana massacre, families of the miners killed in one of South Africa’s deadliest police operations are still pressing for criminal accountability. The AllAfrica-distributed report, based on a Daily Maverick article dated 16 August 2026, says survivors, relatives of the victims and trade unions continue to seek justice and improved working conditions.

The incident took place on 16 August 2012 at the Lonmin platinum mine in Marikana, near Rustenburg, where striking mineworkers were demanding a wage increase. According to the report, police shot dead 34 miners at two separate sites after being ordered to disperse the crowd. The wider week of unrest had already caused additional deaths, and the total toll from the episode was 40 killed and 78 injured.

The report says no one has yet been held criminally liable. It notes that the Farlam Commission of Inquiry cleared key political figures, including current President Cyril Ramaphosa and former police minister Nathi Mthethwa, but urged the National Prosecuting Authority to investigate and prosecute those involved. Nine police officers were later charged in connection with the events.

The case remains significant because it is widely regarded as South Africa’s most lethal use of force by police since the 1976 Student Uprising, and it continues to shape debates over policing, labour rights and accountability. More broadly, the Marikana episode remains a touchstone in South African political and industrial history.