About the Book
The Marikana Massacre involved the largest number of killings of South African civilians by the security forces since the end of apartheid. Those killed were mineworkers who were on strike for a living wage of R12 500 per month. The workers had occupied a koppie and were simply demanding the right to speak with their employer when the police attacked and the massacre occurred.
The core of Marikana: A View from the Mountain and a Case to Answer is a series of interviews conducted with workers who were present at the massacre. Many of those dialogues were at the foot of the �mountain� because that is where workers continued to meet. In addition, the book includes a narrative of the strike and the massacre, written from the perspective of the strikers; an analysis of context and political significance; and a list of all those who died at Marikana.
About the Author
Peter Alexander is a professor of sociology at the University of Johannesburg and holds the South African Research Chair in Social Change. In the UK, he gained degrees from London University, was an academic at Oxford University, and held leadership positions in the Southern Africa Solidarity Workers Party. He moved permanently to South Africa in 1998. His interests include labour history, sepcifically Witbank miners, and community protests.
Thapelo Lekgowa is a freelance research fieldworker working with the South African Research Chair in Social Change. After school he worked for a platinum mine. He is a full-time political activist, who learns and teaches on the street. A co-founder of the Che Guevera Film Club and a member of the Marikana Support Committee.
Botsang Mmope is a herbal healer associated with Green World Africa. Over the past seven years he has worked on various projects with the University of Johannesburg, including research on class strikes and, recently, the Chair in Social Change�s �Rebellion of the Poor�. He is an activist member of the Soweto Electricity Crisis Committee.
Luke Sinwell is a Senior Researcher with the Research Chair in Development Studies from the University of the Witwatersrand in 2009. His interests include the politics and conceptualisation of participatory development and governance, direct action and action research. He is co-editor of Contesting Transformation: Popular Resistance in Twenty-First Century South Africa published by Pluto Press at the end of 2012.
