Johannesburg - A ruling that the state must pay the legal costs of the survivors of the Marikana shooting and those of the bereaved families was welcomed by the DA on Monday.
“The judgment presents an opportunity for the victims' families to pursue justice through the commission investigating this horrific tragedy,” Democratic Alliance Gauteng premier candidate Mmusi Maimane said in a statement.
“Today our Constitution and rule of law have been affirmed.”
Earlier on Monday, the High Court in Johannesburg ruled the state had to pay the legal expenses at the Farlam Commission of Inquiry for those who survived the Marikana shooting last year and the families of those who died.
The application was brought by Dali Mpofu, representing the miners wounded at Marikana.
The miners and family members have not been represented at the commission recently because of a lack of funding.
Maimane said the matter should not have had to go to court.
“More than anyone else, these families deserve the opportunity to know the truth about what happened at Marikana.”
The inquiry is investigating the circumstances of the deaths of 44 people during strike-related unrest at Lonmin Platinum's operations at Marikana, near Rustenburg in North West last year.
The police shot dead 34 people, mostly striking workers, wounded 70, and arrested 250 on August 16, 2012. In the preceding week, 10 people died, including two policemen and two security guards.
Sapa