More News Articles

From 16 to 20 September 2024, SERI researcher Thato Masiangoako participated in the Global Strategy Meeting (GSM) of the International Network for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ESCR-Net), which took place under the theme "Building Collective Power to Shape Our Futures". The Meeting brought together over 100 ESCR-net members from around the world to set the network’s strategic agenda for the next five years which is rooted in "justice, dignity, and care for people and the planet". The Meeting took place in Chiang-Mai, Thailand and was jointly hosted by ESCR-net, the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact (AIPP) and the Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD). Other South African-based ESCR-net members that participated in the GSM included Abahlali baseMjondolo,  the Women’s Legal Centre, and the Legal Resources Centre.

 * Photos courtesy of ESCR-net.

The meeting comprised plenary panel discussions and presentations, break-away group discussions and incorporated several opportunities for member-to-member exchanges and solidarity-building. The meeting also gave a special focus on the plight of Palestinians and indigenous groups globally. The various sessions aimed to develop a shared political analysis of the current global context and the various crises of care, climate, debt, and escalating violence faced globally to further develop the conditions identified in the Common Charter for Collective Struggle of 2016. The meeting provided space for members to develop a new ESCR-Net strategic framework that is member-led and is aimed at realising the envisioned futures that were collectively developed throughout the meeting. As a member of the ESCR-net's strategic litigation working group and the research and monitoring working group, SERI had the opportunity to participate in the break-away sessions of these working groups.

Across the various discussions, members shared an understanding of the nature and causes of the various crises as rooted in capitalism, colonialism/imperialism, and patriarchy. Members also emphasised the importance of unity and building solidarity, strengthening political education, developing narratives derived from community-led knowledge, and  the need for an intersectional analysis as vital strategies for confronting today’s global challenges.

• Read more about the GSM here.

On 5 September 2024, SERI senior researcher, Dr Yvonne Erasmus, participated in an Expert Symposium on Social Justice, Hunger, and the Constitution at the Bertha Retreat at Boschendal. The symposium was initiated and hosted by the Centre for Social Justice, Stellenbosch University (CSJ) and aimed to gather constitutional experts to examine the progress made in the effort to eradicate hunger, and to analyse the right to food by considering relevant constitutional frameworks, the international human rights framework, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the National Development Plan (NDP) through a social justice perspective. The event was facilitated by Centre for Social Justice director Professor Thuli Madonsela who also located the discussions within a social justice framing. 

The event brought together more than 30 participants from civil society, academia, law clinics, government, and the corporate sector. Yvonne spoke on a panel focusing on the role and performance of business, civil society, and international partners. She drew on SERI’s emerging work on food insecurity, the right to food, the experiences of those affected, and the remedy they seek.

For media coverage of the event see:

• A nation hungry for justice, Thuli Madonsela, City Press (8 September 2024).
• At least 116 children died from malnutrition in the Eastern Cape in one year, Mike Loewe, Ground Up (9 September 2024). 

• Tackling hunger in SA is a constitutional imperative, not charity, say experts, Naledi Sikhakhane, Daily Maverick (10 September 2024).  

On Monday, 9 September 2024, the Mahikeng High Court acquitted six police officers who were standing trial for their involvement in the events of 13 August 2012 which resulted in the deaths of three mineworkers (Mr. Semi Jokanisi, Mr. Thembelakhe Mati and Mr. Pumzile Sokanyile) as well as two police officers (Warrant Officer Tsietsi Hendrik Monene, and Warrant Officer Sello Ronnie Lepaauku). SERI is disheartened with this outcome and our sympathies are with the affected families. The trial had been ongoing since May 2021.

On 13 August 2012, a few days into the strike, mineworkers marched from Karee shaft towards the K4 shaft of the Lonmin mine to persuade others to join the strike and to refrain from working. Before reaching the shaft, the mineworkers turned back to return to the koppie that they had occupied in Wonderkop. On their way back, the mineworkers were intercepted by the police led by the former North West Deputy Police Commissioner Major-General William Mpembe. He attempted to negotiate with the mineworkers, seeking to disarm them of their traditional weapons. The mineworkers expressed their desire for the police to instead escort them back to the koppie where they would join the rest of their peers who were peacefully protesting.

However, during this exchange, the police suddenly refused to continue with negotiations. As the mineworkers began moving away, continuing their march back to the koppie, a tear gas canister was set off, shortly followed by stun grenades without any warning.  Mpembe was later charged in his capacity as head of the operation during the events of 13 August 2012 for instructing police to fire teargas, stun grenades, and rubber bullets which led to the chaos that resulted in the deaths of the mineworkers and police officers. He was charged with the murder of all five deceased. Mpembe was also charged with the attempted murders of six surviving mineworkers and one police officer. Regarding the murder of Mr. Sokanyile, in particular, Mpembe was charged alongside retired Colonel Salmon Johannes Vermaak and police officers Nkosana Mguye, Masilo Mogale, Katlego Joseph Sekgweleya, and Khazamola Phillip Makhubela. Mr. Sokanyile died as a result of being shot in the head after allegedly being pursued by the police, some 620 metres away from the scene of the main confrontation. The police officers who were charged included those who admitted shooting at Mr Sokanyile in testimony before the Marikana Commission of Inquiry and were also connected to cartridges found 74,4 metres away from Mr Sokanyile’s body.

Yesterday, despite this, the officers were acquitted.

In March 2021, officers Mpembe, Gideon van Zyl, Dingaan Madoda and Oupa Pule were acquitted in the case relating to the death of mineworker Mr. Modisaotsile van Wyk Sagalala who is one of the 34 mineworkers  allegedly injured at ‘scene 2’. He later died from these injuries. The officers were charged with defeating the ends of justice, contravening Section (29)(1) of the IPID Act for failure to report a death in police custody to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) and for contravening Section 6(2) of the Commission Act for lying to the Marikana Commission of Inquiry under oath. The South African Police Service testified at the Marikana Commission of Inquiry that Mr. Sagalala had died at the Andrew Saffie hospital, when in fact, according to an investigation by IPID, he was already dead when the police transported his body from the detention centre to the hospital. 

To date, the state is yet to charge anyone concerning the events of 16 August 2012. The families of the deceased mineworkers continue to wait for justice twelve years after the Marikana massacre. The state has failed in its duties to uphold the rights of victims to an effective remedy and allowed this gross abuse of human rights to remain unaccounted for, to the detriment of the survivors, the families and at a cost of continued failures in policing.

SERI executive director, Nomzamo Zondo, said: “The failure to hold accountable those responsible for these deaths is a betrayal of justice. Not only does it dishonour the families of the deceased but erodes trust in our justice system."

Contact details:  

• Asenati Tukela, SERI attorney: Asenati[at]seri-sa.org / 078 684 7658.
• Nomzamo Zondo, SERI executive director: Nomzamo[at]seri-sa.org / 071 301 9676.
• Edward Molopi, SERI senior communications and advocacy officer: Edward[at]seri-sa.org / 082 590 9638.

>> Download the full statement here. 

[ENDS[

Saturday, 31 August 2024, marked a year since the Usindiso building fire on Albert Street, Marshalltown. The Marshalltown Fire Justice Campaign hosted a candlelight vigil outside the Usindiso building in recognition of the lives that were lost in the fire and affirmed solidarity for the fight for justice by the survivors of the fire, who have yet been provided with alternative housing and compensation for their loss. The memorial was attended by the survivors of the fire, various civil society organisations, as well as members of the public. SERI stands in solidarity with the campaign and echoes the campaign's call for justice for the survivors and the families of the victims. The event was attended by some of the SERI's staff including SERI's executive director Nomzamo Zondo, who delivered a message of solidarity on behalf of SERI.

The fire at Usindiso claimed the lives of 77 people including 12 children and left many more injured and destitute. The building, which had become derelict, was owned by the City of Johannesburg and the Johannesburg Property Company (JPC). The Khampepe Commission of Inquiry into the fire has found that the building was abandoned by the City and JPC at least since 2019 and has found that the City and its entities, including the JPC, must bear partial responsibility and/or accountability for the tragedy and that that the consequences of the fire would have been mitigated had the City complied with its legal obligations as owner and municipality.