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Johannesburg - The dispersal of striking mineworkers in Marikana was rushed because police had been informed that the then-head of the ANC Youth League, Julius Malema, had planned to come to the mine to address the workers.
This is according to EFF spokesperson Mbuyiseni Ndlozi. Malema is now the leader of the party.
Ndlozi told an audience at a debate at the University of Johannesburg on Wednesday that the police were acting under pressure exerted by Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa when they opened fire on the striking mineworkers on August 16 2012, killing 34 of them.
"Why did they [the police] take a decision to expedite that thing of moving in to dismiss and disarm workers who were on the mountain? It was rushed... It wasn't meant to happen on the 16th," said Ndlozi, adding that this was contained in a report compiled by the commission.
"It was because there was political pressure from [now deputy president] Cyril Ramaphosa," Ndlozi maintained.
At the time, Ramaphosa was a non-executive shareholder at Lonmin. He has since been cleared of any wrongdoing by the Farlam Commission of Inquiry into the Marikana incident, and instead blame fell mostly on national police commissioner Riah Phiyega.
"There was a conversation between Riah Phiyega and that North West person, [Zukiswa] Mbombo, but you know what they said? They said we must move in quickly because Julius Malema is coming to address the miners.
"Why? Because in the Impala strike, the peace deal that was brokered... Malema went there and went to the NUM offices. He was still caught up in those things of the NUM and the ANC and that made him famous.
"Not just him, but that made the Youth League famous amongst the workers, so Ramaphosa put pressure and said: 'We don't want this nationalisation. That Julius will go there and agitate the workers about nationalisation and we are going to have problems'," Ndlozi claimed.
President Jacob Zuma last week released the report compiled by the Farlam Commission, following a probe into the deadly strike.
Zuma said the report stated that the police had lied to the commission about the tactical plan to disperse striking mineworkers.
Meanwhile, the EFF was expected to hold a press conference on Thursday where Ndlozi said they would reveal "some scary proposals" of what they believe should happen following the release of the Marikana report.
