Pretoria - A police witness, dubbed Mr X, will testify in camera, from a remote undisclosed location to the Marikana Commission of Inquiry, retired judge Ian Farlam ruled on Tuesday.
He told the public hearings that any publication of Mr X's details will be prohibited.
Farlam's ruling followed an application by the SA Police Service seeking the protection of Mr X, owing to safety reasons.
He was apparently part of the group of protesting Marikana
miners who underwent a ritual which included two sangomas, the burning of live sheep and swallowing of the ashes on August 11, 2012.
The inquiry is investigating the deaths of 44 people during strike-related violence at Lonmin's platinum mining operations at Marikana, near Rustenburg in the North West.
The police shot dead 34 people, mostly striking mineworkers, wounded over 70, and arrested 250 on August 16, 2012 while trying to disarm and disperse them.
In the preceding week, 10 people, including two policemen and two security guards, were killed.
Sapa