Marikana Commission of Inquiry(REUTERS)
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The official public hearings into the Marikana tragedy started today at the Rustenburg Civic Centre in the North West.
Forensic experts are expected to explain the video footage of the August 16 Marikana killings to the Marikana Judicial Commission of Inquiry currently underway.
The commission started its investigations on Monday and has already visited the infamous hill where 34 mineworkers were killed and other scenes.
The commission has acquired the video footage from various media houses. This is to assist the commission in its investigations. Spokesperson for the commission, Kevin Malunga, says people who witnessed the shooting incident of August 16 will be the first to give evidence of that day's account.
He says witnesses will include the police officers who were at the scene. Thirty four mineworkers were killed during clashes with the police as their unprotected wage strike turned violent. Ten other people, including two police officers were killed in separate incidents, days before the massacre.
The commission has acquired the video footage from various media houses
The footage is believed to have been captured by the police and the media. The Marikana Commission of Inquiry has been confronted with the faces of people who died in the tragedy, as commissioners entered the Wonderkop area to continue their inspections. This is where three of the informal settlements that they will visit today are located.
Yesterday, when retired judge Ian Farlam, chairperson of the commission visited the area, people from the local community held up placards with the names and photos of the deceased. Farlam was leading an in loco inspection of the living conditions of the miners working at the Lonmin Marikana mine.
