Sunday Independent writes that President Cyril Ramaphosa will be heading to court for a grilling on his role in the Marikana massacre back in 2012 when the police shot and killed Lonmin mineworkers during a strike for a wage increase.

The pleadings in the civil claim for damages brought seven years ago by the group of 349 surviving mineworkers against Ramaphosa, Lonmin (now trading as Sibanye-Stillwater) and the SA government, have now closed. The remaining step will be for the parties to share the documents on which they rely. The matter will then be set down for a trial, where Ramaphosa must come and testify why he should not be held personally liable for the massacre. The mineworkers want an unconditional apology for his actions and utterances, including a damages payment of nearly R1 billion. In June, the Johannesburg High Court made a ruling that opened the door for Ramaphosa to be held liable for collusive conduct during the Marikana massacre. The move brought the current head of state – who was back then a Lonmin director – one step closer to his day in court. Judge Frits van Oosten found that a case could be made that Ramaphosa “participated in, masterminded and championed the toxic collusion” between mining company Lonmin and the police that led to the Marikana massacre. The ruling did not hold the defendants directly responsible for the deaths. The claim for damages was lodged in 2015 and over the past seven years, Ramaphosa has raised technicalities in a bid to have the allegations against him quashed. At least four of Ramaphosa’s exceptions were upheld, but one was rejected.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Setumo Stone at Sunday Independent

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