The credibility of the Marikana Commission of Inquiry will be tainted if all parties are not represented or given adequate chance to present their case, says the secretary of the Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution, Lawson Naidoo.

He was speaking a day before the High Court decides whether the State will foot the bill for the legal teams representing the mineworkers.

Naidoo says that government instituted the commission to find out what occurred last year at the Lonmin Marikana mine, which left mineworkers and policemen dead. He says, “In order to enable Judge Farlam to execute his mandate, the responsibility lies with the government to make the funds available.”

On Monday, the Constitutional Court dismissed the miners’ application to force government to pay their legal costs. This has added the additional stress to the victim’s who’s legal teams may have to withdraw if the legal costs are not met.

The team of lawyers representing the victims at the commission have received no funds from the Legal Aid Board or from the State since the commission started in October last year.
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