Questioning of SAPS to continue at Marikana inquiry

The Farlam Commission of Inquiry into the Marikana shooting is expected to continue on Friday.

 

On Thursday SA Police Service (SAPS) Maj-Gen Charl Annandale was questioned. He headed the special tactical operations team during the unrest in Marikana.  He was delivering his evidence-in-chief before the commission of inquiry in Rustenburg.

 

Annandale said the SAPS realised there were shortcomings in the public operations unit which dealt with crowd management.  Among other things, police had noted they had insufficient radio communications and had been working on improving the system for several years.

 

He told the commission that each province would need around R600 million to upgrade their radio communications systems from analogue to digital. New video camera equipment was also being acquired for police to use when attending to public unrest. Commission's chairman, retired Judge Ian Farlam said advocate Dali Mpofu would return on Friday.

   

Mpofu represents Lonmin mineworkers who were injured and arrested during wage-related unrest in Marikana, North West, in August last year. He was stabbed in an apparent robbery in East London three weeks ago. Evidence leader Geoff Budlender began questioning Annandale shortly before the commission adjourned on Thursday and was expected to continue on Friday. Lawyers at the hearings were worried that the proceedings would drag on until 2014.

 

Lonmin mine's lawyer, Schalk Burger, told the commission that according to his and other lawyers' observations, it could take another eight months for all the witness to be heard."This means phase two of the commission could only start in 2014," he said.

 

- Sapa