WE DEMAND R12.500 AFTER DEDUCTION



With 34 dead, 259 arrested and about 87 injured on the 16th August the Lonmin are no where near backing down “sifuna R12-500” meet. Suspended ANC youth league leader Julius Malema came to address the workers at their secret, spiritual venue, and as you enter this venue women were all requested to take off anything on their heads, jewellery and loose change as it’s disrespectful to enter with those. Police left the place because workers were not feeling safe with them around.  

This all transpired on the 18th AUGUST :

“Hospitals and mortuaries are full with our brothers bodies killed by policemen – workers shouted” and soldiers too. We didn’t commit any crime except demand a reasonable living wage. Our lips are dry, we fear going to our homes because we might be arrested so we sleep here and wake here, we will die for R12-500 just like our brothers and we won’t leave this place until our brothers are buried, discharged at hospitals and realised from jail and our demands meet. Bernard Mokwena ( from Lonmin management) and  Zokwana senzeni (president of NUM) sold us out, they gave the go ahead for us to be shot because we are non-NUM members and were not in premises of the mine, I plead with you my fellow black people stop selling us out you just like us. Impala workers are with us in solidarity” - Xolani

“Qina msembezi, long live the sprit of Chris Hani, Peter Mokaba, and Oliver Tambo long live. O tla wa mmosho wa digatamarukhuwana. Down with Jacob Zuma, down with Nathi Mthethwa down. The media is failing workers because they don’t report that Cereal Ramaphosa has shares in Lonmin mine that’s why police shot to kill because he suffers loss of profits, in Impala there was no shooting because Cereal has no shares there, and he bought an R18 million buffalo where as you just asking for R12-500. Spears are symbols of manhood in African culture, they used life not rubber bullets and used water cannons after to smoke screen their actions. Zuma came here yesterday and had tea with white people and sees no problem with the action of the police, this Politian’s are not here today they will only appear when they want your votes and you will never see them again, Zuma’s government killed people and will still do. Other mine workers should go on strike in solidarity. – Julius Malema

I managed to have a short interview with two men

1.       Xolani very vocal man and he told me that he ‘doesn’t feel safe, he fears for his life because the police are hunting him down but he will never back, “am doing this for my dead brothers”  we wont leave this place until they buried our brothers, we not on the mine property’

2.       Tholakele Dlunga told me that their boss (Bernard Mokwena) gave the police permission to shot so now they are afraid to go back to work, all we want is a living wage and our brothers to be laid to rest and those in jail or hospitals back home. And some of my friends are now calling me informing me that they are still alive but hiding in the bush because they fear being killed too.

Workers and residents of Marikana came in numbers, wives cried out for their husbands and the future of their children. “we lost husbands because of Lonmin” Julius Malema left the venue to go see this di-one (Middlekrag) place which is Lonmin’s property where there are allegations that some of workers are being imprisoned there due to lack of space in local police stations cells and was sent to Marikana police station were we found out that the is no prisoners at di-one and the name list of those arrested and in hospital is at the Lonmin hospital information desk and that they will give Xolane copies to distribute so that families can know whether their loved ones are in jail, hospital and if  not on the list consider  possibility  of death, was also informed that 18 of the 34 dead are unidentifiable, the arrested workers will appear in court on Monday.
                                               LONMIN MINE
                                                   KWA LETLAPENG/MOUNTAIN. 
                                          
                                              

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