Police evidence delayed at S Africa death inquiry

A South African inquiry investigating a police crackdown that killed 34 platinum miners delayed potentially pivotal police testimony yesterday to allow victims’ families to get to the hearings. The Marikana Commission of Inquiry delayed hearing evidence from police forensic experts and crime scene investigators after lawyers argued that it would prejudice the victims’ families if that evidence was to be led in their absence. Many of the miners hail from South Africa’s Eastern Cape province, hundreds of miles away from the northwestern Rustenburg town where the hearing is taking place. The families are not expected to reach the town until Monday, according to one of their lawyers, Dumisa Ntsebeza. “This commission is about dead people,” said Ntsebeza, arguing for the relatives of the slain miners to be bussed to the hearing. “It’s a matter of grave importance that this matter should not proceed without them.” He said most of the victims’ relatives live in far-flung areas of South Africa where they have no access to TV and had not seen the video footage of the killings. “While expedition is important, there should be a level of sensitivity,” he said. “It can’t be correct that we inquire into the dead and their families are not here.” Former Supreme Court of Appeal judge Ian Farlam viewed that request as fair. Farlam said waiting for the arrival of the slain miners’ relatives could also give the commission more time to obtain media footage it has requested.. “I made an appeal to the representatives of the media, ...(but) I understand there has not been full response to that,” he said. Dali Mpofu, representing the 270 miners who were arrested and charged with the murder of their own colleagues under an obscure “common purpose doctrine”, before authorities gave in to intense pressure and freed them, warned that “haste may result in us having a half-baked and rushed product.” “There is nobody in this country who is more keen for the finalization of this commission than the victims,” he said. Renowned human rights lawyer George Bizos added his voice to support the postponement of the hearing of police evidence. “We don’t want to deprive the families of any of their fundamental rights,” said Bizos, asking for a comment from the police in a discussion that lasted more than an hour. Police lawyer Theboko Frank Mothibedi’s responded saying they were not ready to present their evidence on Wednesday. “At this stage we are not yet ready to present a version of the account of the police,” he said. But on day three of the deliberations over the Aug. 16 violence, the court did receive post-mortem reports for 33 of the 34 miners killed by police.