Africa

South African police ‘lied’ about shooting of 34 striking miners

Marikana commission says force doctored papers about incident which shocked country

A miner gestures as his fellow workers from Marikana, their families and supporters march to the Union Buildings in Pretoria last week, to protest against the government’s lack of funding for the Marikana commission of inquiry. Photograph: Ihsaan Haffejee/Reuters
A miner gestures as his fellow workers from Marikana, their families and supporters march to the Union Buildings in Pretoria last week, to protest against the government’s lack of funding for the Marikana commission of inquiry. Photograph: Ihsaan Haffejee/Reuters
Thu Sept 19 2013 - 18:53

A government commission investigating the fatal shooting of 34 striking miners by South African police at the Marikana mine said the police force has lied, withheld documents and apparently doctored other papers.

In a statement, the Marikana commission said it had to search computer hard drives of officers to discover documents about the 2012 shootings that shocked South Africa and recalled the worst excesses of the apartheid era.

The commission said documents show the police version of events at the platinum mine “is in material respects not the truth”.

The statement said the thousands of pages of new evidence include documents the police had previously said did not exist and material which should have been disclosed earlier by police.

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The commission adjourned until Wednesday to study the new evidence.

AP