South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has committed to visit Marikana, where 34 striking mineworkers were massacred by police on August 16, 2012.
Ramaphosa said the visit would give closure not only to the town’s mining community but to him as well, and that it would heal the wounds inflicted by the brutal killing of the 34 mineworkers.
Speaking on eNCA on Monday night, the president said he would visit Marikana once certain processes, which include finalising pending lawsuits, have been followed.
“When we finally go, we should have a situation where we are able to effectively put closure to this matter and put it to bed and heal the wounds. I know it will never be put to bed, but it will at least be healing the wounds and that in our culture is important,” Ramaphosa said.
The president has faced criticism from various sectors of society for his role in calling for police presence to be beefed up during the protracted strike for increased wages in 2012, which resulted in the tragic massacre on August 16 that year.
