A Public Order Policing (POP) commander testified in the North West High Court in Mahikeng that he took a step back as operational commander at Lonmin K3 shaft in Marikana on 13 August 2012.

The officer told the court he did so because his senior, former provincial deputy police commissioner, Major-General William Mpembe, asked him to step back. Mpembe then proceeded to take the lead.

Senior State prosecutor, advocate Kenneth Mashile, led Lieutenant-Colonel Omphile Joseph Merafe's evidence in the murder trial of Mpembe and five other officers before Judge Tebogo Djaje on Tuesday.

The police officer is attached to Rustenburg POP and is the unit's commander.

He detailed his version of the events, which resulted in five people being killed after police clashed with striking mineworkers.

Mpembe is in the dock with his former colleagues, retired Colonel Salmon Vermaak, Constable Nkosana Mguye, and Warrant Officers Collin Mogale, Joseph Sekgwetla and Khazamola Makhubela.

Mineworkers Semi Jokanisi, Phumzile Sokhanyile and Thembelakhe Mati, and police officers Hendrick Monene and Sello Lepaaku died.

Police fired shots in an attempt to disperse striking miners on their way to the "koppie" (hill).

Merafe told the court that, before the tragic incident, senior police officers gathered at Lonmin's Joint Operations Centre, where they viewed CCTV footage of the mining area.

Officers also held a meeting with Lonmin's mine management, who had raised concerns about unrest in the area.

Merafe said, as they viewed the footage, striking miners were seen marching towards Wonderkop.

After the meeting ended, Mpembe was left in charge by then provincial commissioner, Lieutenant-General Zukiswa Mbombo, the court heard.

Mpembe instructed officers to drive to where the group was marching, in order to establish what was happening, Merafe testified.

He told the court that, when they arrived, they found the group gathered not far from a railway line.

Merafe said there were 70 POP members and seven senior officers from the unit.

He added that POP members from Johannesburg, Pretoria and Mpumalanga were also present. He was in charge because he was the senior commander on the scene.

The Tactical Response Team and the National Intervention Unit were also present.

But, before they reached the group, they stopped two men, who were wearing blankets. The men were searched and found to be in possession of firearms.

Merafe said the men were arrested.

The court also heard, from Merafe, that Mpembe was the overall commander and gave instructions.

Merafe said they approached the group of about 300, who were armed with spears, knobkerries and pangas.

When the officers were about 10 metres away from the workers, they stopped.

Obeyed instructions

Merafe said, as POP commander, he approached the miners, but was stopped by Mpembe and Colonel Sholo Samuel Diole.

Diole was the Visible Policing coordinator of the Rustenburg cluster.

"[They] said, 'come back, these people will kill you, Merafe'.

"I went back because the one that was speaking to me, telling me to go back, was my senior, Major-General Mpembe, as well as Diole, also my senior. So I obeyed their instruction," Merafe said.

He said Mpembe then moved to approach the group himself, in order to negotiate.

The court heard the group spoke Fanakalo, a language mostly used in mining areas.

But, because Mpembe could not understand the language, he asked someone to interpret as he tried negotiating and pleading with the men to put their weapons down.

The miners, though, wanted to head to the hill and refused to drop their weapons.

Request to take over

Merafe said because he could see the workers were not adhering to Mpembe's request, he asked to take over because he was the operational commander.

"I requested to the general that I take over the situation to deal with these people. I told the general [that] I want to disperse these people and disarm them.

"The general (Mpembe) replied, 'no, I cannot allow incidents such as [the] Tatane incident to happen here'."

Andries Tatane died after being shot with rubber bullets at close range by police during a service delivery protest in Ficksburg on 13 April 2011, News24 previously reported.

Merafe said: "Because the general refused to let me do my job as an operational commander, I stood back and let him continue with his own thing."

He said, because Mpembe spoke loudly, other members heard him talking about the Tatane incident and moved to put their shotguns inside the vehicles.

The trial continues until Friday.