On August 10, 2012, workers at the Lonmin platinum mine in Marikana walked off the job. They demanded a monthly wage of 12,500 rand, roughly $1,500. The strike was illegal under South African law. The initial days saw clashes between the strikers, who were largely rock drill operators, and security forces. Ten people died in the first week, including two police officers and two security guards, killed in violent confrontations with armed strikers.
The event is often framed as a simple labor dispute. It was a collision of political and economic forces in post-apartheid South Africa. The strikers, members of the upstart Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union, were also challenging the dominance of the National Union of Mineworkers, an ally of the ruling African National Congress. The state perceived the wildcat strike as a threat to economic stability and its own political authority.
On August 16, police encircled several thousand strikers on a rocky outcrop known as Wonderkop. After failed negotiations, officers moved in with armored vehicles, water cannons, and stun grenades to disperse the crowd. A group of miners, some armed with spears, machetes, and at least one pistol, advanced toward a police line. The police opened fire with automatic rifles. Thirty-four miners were killed. Seventy-eight were wounded. The police claimed self-defense. Video footage showed a more complex, chaotic scene.
The Marikana massacre was the single most lethal use of force by South African security forces against civilians since the 1960 Sharpeville massacre. It shattered the narrative of the ANC as the unwavering champion of the working class. A commission of inquiry later found the police planning and tactics were defective. No senior police or government officials faced criminal charges. The platinum price did not collapse. The wages eventually increased. The political scar remains.