While it was probably a noble intention to suspend the normal activities of Parliament to "reflect on the national tragedy" at Marikana, where 44 people died following a wildcat strike at the Lonmin platinum mine, the atmosphere became charged with animosity as the ruling party and opposition faced off over who and what was responsible for the massacre, Munusamy says.
Mineral Resources Minister Susan Shabangu, already under heavy fire from the opposition for her handling of the wage dispute at Lonmin, appealed for restraint from making judgments pending the outcome of the inquiry. "This appeal is made in the light of the clear public interest," she said. But Dianne Kohler Barnard, the DA's police spokeswoman, said the next stage after the national grief would be anger. "Unfortunately, [...] new National Police Commissioner Riah Phiyega said police officers should not be sorry for the deaths of the protesters."
Only when the house rose for a moment's silence to remember the dead, after an hour and a half of bickering and recriminations, the MPs showed real respect for those who fell at Marikana, Munusamy says.
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