Anniversaries

It is now ten years since the infamous Marikana massacre of striking miners in South Africa in August 2011, and the public apportionment of responsibility linked to some kind of settlement as to what the actual facts of those events were, remains elusive. It seems likely there were two massacres and not one, and official statements about police activities are to say the least shaky. The planned insurrection or whatever one is to call it in July 2021 occurred just over a year ago. In its wake supporters of Jacob Zuma continue to see him as squeaky-clean and offended against as do those of Trump. Another anniversary is that it is almost exactly a year ago since the 23 August murder/assassination of Babita Deokaran – killed for uncovering official intermeshed with gangland corruption. And an example of what state capture means at local levels. All three events have been discussed in earlier blogs. And all three remain unfinished business for South Africa.

Last updated: 18 August 2022