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Nandipha Gunuza, wife of Bonginkosi Yona, who died on August 16, 2012 during the Marikana massacre.
- The widows of the miners who died in Marikana in 2012 are in court to oversee the proceedings.
- One of the widows said they wanted to see the police officers who shot their husbands in jail.
- Former Deputy Provincial Police Commissioner Major General William Mpembe is on trial along with five other police officers.
“We were compensated, but we will find peace and we will be satisfied when the government puts us, as families, in one place and addresses us.”
These were the words of Nandipha Gunuza, 37, the widow of Bonginkosi Yona, a miner who died during the Marikana massacre on August 16, 2012.
The widows were at the Northwest High Court in Mahikeng on Tuesday and Wednesday to attend the murder trial of former provincial police commissioner deputy to Major General William Mpembe and five other police officers.
Mpembe, retired Colonel Salmon Vermaak, Agent Nkosana Mguye and NCOs Katlego Sekgweleya, Masilo Mogale and Khazamola Makhubela are on trial for the incident, which claimed the lives of five people at the Lonmin K3 well in Marikana, three days before the massacre.
The former deputy provincial commissioner faces four counts of murder and five counts of attempted murder, News24 reported.
It is alleged that Mpembe unlawfully and intentionally shot and killed Semi Jokansi, Thembalakhe Mati, Hendrick Monene and Seal Lepaaku.
A former police video operator says the horrific scene in which two of his colleagues were shot and killed in Marikana was the first time he witnessed anything like this in his life. | @ntwaagae https://t.co/mQNxD42vVD
– News24 (@ News24) October 14, 2020
Speaking to the media over lunch in court, after being reluctant at first, Gunuza said they had decided to come as a delegation of widows to hear how the case was going.
The delegation is also made up of families of miners who died on August 13, he said.
READ | Marikana Trial: Police Officer Testifies About Collection of Blood Samples and Evidence
“We came to find out how the judicial processes are going to go because what we want is for all those people who did that bad thing, we want to see them locked up in jail and not go to court while they are out.
“As families, we are not well because we do not see progress in these cases. We will be satisfied once they (police) are also locked up because we do not have husbands and brothers for those policemen,” said the widow. .
He added that even though they were compensated for the death of their husbands, they still want justice to prevail and, most importantly, they want the government to speak to them as well.
READ HERE | Murder trial in Marikana: Police questioned about the integrity of crime scenes
“For us to find peace and be happy, we want the government to join us and talk to us. We will be satisfied when we talk to the government and it also talks to us.”
Although the police officers also died during the events that unfolded, Gunuza said he would prefer not to comment on whether they were in unity with their families, because, for now, they were only a delegation representing the families of the miners who died.
READ ALSO | CCTV operator describes scenes in which five people allegedly died
The defense continues with the cross-examination of the State’s witness, Lieutenant Colonel Moses Mushwana.
Mushwana was at the scene after the events of August 13.
He gathered forensic evidence and took photos of crime scenes.
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