South Africa: Shocking evidence presented to the Marikana Inquiry

A briefing on the Marikana Inquiry detailing evidence of police crime scene tampering, including the planting of weapons on deceased mineworkers and evidence of executions. It highlights concerns over a police cover-up, the alleged torture of witnesses, and the evasiveness of senior police leadership regarding a post-tragedy nine-day meeting.

• Evidence presented to the Commission of Inquiry into the Marikana tragedy suggests police tampered with crime scenes by placing weapons in the hands of or near deceased mineworkers. Specifically, at 'scene two'—where 18 of 34 mineworkers died—comparative photographs showed a dead man without a weapon in early images, but with a yellow panga (large hatchet) in his hand in photos taken a few hours later.
• The nature of the injuries sustained by mineworkers challenges the police claim of self-defence. Evidence includes a mineworker who appeared to be shot while lying on the ground with hands tied behind his back, one body with 12 bullet wounds, and most victims killed by single shots to the head.
• There are allegations of a police cover-up, including the arrest and alleged torture of four mineworkers who witnessed police actions. While Advocate Ishmael Semenya stated that National Police Commissioner Riah Phiyega was aware of the tampering and had launched a probe, questions remain as to why this was not disclosed to the inquiry earlier.
• The conduct of senior police leadership is under scrutiny, specifically regarding a nine-day meeting held shortly after the Marikana tragedy. Witnesses from this meeting have been described as evasive and lacking credibility, leading to questions about leadership complicity in hindering the commission's work.

APA

Institute for Security Studies (n.d.). South Africa: Shocking evidence presented to the Marikana Inquiry. https://issafrica.org/research/publication-archives/cpra-daily-briefing/south-africa-shocking-evidence-presented-to-the-marikana-inquiry

Chicago

Institute for Security Studies. South Africa: Shocking evidence presented to the Marikana Inquiry. n.d. https://issafrica.org/research/publication-archives/cpra-daily-briefing/south-africa-shocking-evidence-presented-to-the-marikana-inquiry.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Security Studies |title=South Africa: Shocking evidence presented to the Marikana Inquiry |url=https://issafrica.org/research/publication-archives/cpra-daily-briefing/south-africa-shocking-evidence-presented-to-the-marikana-inquiry |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforsecuritystudiesndsouth, author = {{Institute for Security Studies}}, title = {{South Africa: Shocking evidence presented to the Marikana Inquiry}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, url = {https://issafrica.org/research/publication-archives/cpra-daily-briefing/south-africa-shocking-evidence-presented-to-the-marikana-inquiry}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }