The current position - where those injured and arrested by police have no funding for representation before the Commission - is unacceptable, particularly in a process that has been run on adversarial lines.

While the High Court has determined that neither the state nor legal aid is obliged to pay for the legal representation of the injured and arrested, it remains the case that they have a discretion to do so.

The Presidency, the Department of Justice, and the Legal Aid Board should urgently consider exercising that discretion to allow the work of the Commission to continue in an inclusive, responsive manner.

Denying funding - and therefore denying representation - to a party that includes many individuals who were shot by police excludes many of the most affected individuals from the Commission process.

This exclusion is also of an indigent group of persons, who are unable to afford legal services and should be assisted. Their exclusion hampers the ability of the Commission to fulfil its Terms of Reference.

Given the huge importance of the Marikana Commission of Inquiry, and given the issues at stake, the SAHRC hopes that a solution can be reached before the resumption of the Commission on Thursday.

The SAHRC, in line with its constitutional mandate, will continue to monitor the proceedings.
 
ENDS

Issued by The South African Human Rights Commission

For more information please contact:
Isaac Mangena
SAHRC Spokesperson
0718848273