Pretoria - Civil rights organisation Right2Know has demanded that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) prioritise the cases of those implicated in the 2012 Marikana massacre to give the families of the 34 miners killed, some form of closure.

Yesterday was the 10-year commemoration of the massacre, and the Right2Know Campaign picketed outside the offices of the NPA in Pretoria.

The organisation’s Sithembiso Khuluse said they opted to mark the anniversary at the doorstep of the NPA to put pressure on it.

Khuluse said the NPA had to ensure those implicated were held accountable and the recommendations of the Marikana Commission of Inquiry report were implemented.

“Despite there being a national outcry for justice to be given to these families, we see very little being done by the authority as if lives were not lost. These families are desperate for closure and it seems all this body wants to do is keep passing the ball.

“It’s not clear to us what is being done by the NPA, but as we’ve seen with the Senzo Meyiwa case, the longer the matter takes the more issues crop up like witnesses dying, and we don’t want to see that happen with this matter too.”

Khuluse said the only answers the body was able to get were an assurance that a meeting would be held with new Deputy Director of Prosecutions in the North West, advocate Pule Baloyi, for an update on the cases being investigated by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid).

Meanwhile, the Human Sciences Research Council indicated that a module of questions in the annual round of the South African Social Attitudes Survey suggested that basic public awareness of the Marikana Massacre like other key historical events was lower than anticipated.

The survey roped in 2 996 respondents aged over 15, who were asked how familiar they were with the Marikana Massacre.

The survey indicated that 17% reported that they were unaware of the massacre, while a further 41% said they had heard of it, but knew little about it.

Only 40% reported knowing enough about the tragedy to be able to explain it to a friend.

“This suggests that awareness and knowledge of the Marikana Massacre remain relatively low among the South African public. Informational access also has a bearing, with those with a TV at their home or internet access displaying higher knowledge levels than those without,” the survey said.

The massacre happened when police opened fire on striking miners at Marikana in the North West on August 16, 2012.

Pretoria News

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Right2Know activists call on NPA to prioritise Marikana massacre prosecutions