Farlam Commission
The Marikana Commission of Inquiry (popularly known as the Farlam Commission) was established by President Jacob Zuma in October 2012 following the Marikana massacre of 16 August 2012, in which 34 striking Lonmin miners were killed by SAPS. Chaired by retired Justice Ian Farlam, the commission ran until June 2015 and produced a 600-page report released by President Zuma on 26 June 2015. Its key legacy is the exoneration of Cyril Ramaphosa from direct responsibility for the massacre, a conclusion that remains fiercely contested.
Key findings:
- Ramaphosa exonerated: The commission found it “cannot be said that Mr Ramaphosa was the ‘cause of the massacre’” and found “no basis…to find even on a prima facie basis that Mr Ramaphosa is guilty of the crimes he is alleged to have committed.” His “concomitant action” emails — sent to Lonmin and government as strikes escalated — were found not to have caused the police’s August 16 operation, as Ramaphosa did not know the operation would take place.
- Phiyega’s fitness questioned: SAPS Commissioner Riah Phiyega was not fully exonerated; her fitness for office was questioned.
- SAPS primary responsibility: The commission found SAPS bore primary responsibility for the killings and recommended that the NPA and Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) investigate the shooters for attempted murder.
- Lonmin criticism: The company “did not sufficiently try to engage with workers on ending the strike or protect its employees.”
- Evidence concealment: SAPS “closed ranks after the massacre and hid evidence from the Marikana Commission.”
Accountability failures: No one has ever been charged for the 34 deaths of 16 August 2012. Some SAPS members were charged for deaths on 13 August (not the massacre day). Officers found to have lied under oath at the commission were not disciplined. No prosecutions followed the commission’s recommendations to the NPA and IPID.
Political criticism: The EFF called the report “a whitewash for the government and ministers including Cyril Ramaphosa. Not even one of them is held responsible.” AMCU and victims’ families were similarly critical. Justice Farlam in 2019 defended the Ramaphosa exoneration: “No one has come since to my knowledge and said that they got this wrong.”
Subsequent legal developments: In a 2022 Johannesburg High Court pre-hearing for compensation claims against Sibanye-Stillwater (as Lonmin’s successor) and Ramaphosa, a judge acknowledged Ramaphosa “was the mastermind of a toxic collusion between Lonmin and SAPS” — the first official court acknowledgement going substantially beyond the Farlam findings.
Connections
- Cyril Ramaphosa — central subject; exonerated by commission; 2022 JHC went further
- Lonmin — the mining company whose labour dispute triggered the massacre; criticised for failing workers
- SAPS — found to bear primary responsibility; closed ranks and hid evidence
- Sibanye-Stillwater — acquired Lonmin 2019; named in 2022 compensation claims as successor
- Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) — recommended as investigative body for SAPS shooters
- Marikana Massacre — the event the commission was established to investigate
- Zondo Commission — parallel state capture inquiry that later examined Ramaphosa’s Lonmin connections