CAPE TOWN - Former Police Minister Bheki Cele has told Parliament’s Ad Hoc Committee that the Marikana massacre would never have happened had he been National Police Commissioner at the time.
Cele, who returned to the hot seat on Friday, said he knew his job but was removed as police boss because he refused to take illegal instructions.
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The massacre happened on 16 August 2012 when the South African Police Service shot and killed 34 striking Lonmin miners in Marikana, near Rustenburg.
Ten more people, including police and security officers, were killed in the weeks leading up to the massacre.
“ I sound arrogant, but I can assure you there would be no Marikana if one was there," said Cele
He took aim at former National Police Commissioner Riah Phiyega, saying she threw herself under the bus for how she handled the Marikana massacre.
"Generals went to brief her on how to handle the operation ... she was given a way out and opted not to ride the bus but to go under it," Cele said.