Racial and Migrant Inequality in Post-Apartheid South Africa: The Case of the 2012 Marikana Massacre

This article investigates the 2012 Marikana massacre as a lens through which to understand the persistence of racial and migrant inequalities in post-apartheid South Africa. Despite the formal dismantling of apartheid, systemic socioeconomic disparities remain deeply entrenched, particularly within extractive labour sectors. The massacre exemplifies how democratic promises have failed to dismantle racialized structures of economic exploitation and exclusion. Focusing on the concepts of racial capitalism and deportability, this study analyzes how racial and immigration status function as intersecting mechanisms of marginalization. Through theoretical synthesis and critical review of secondary literature and policy analysis, this study explores how Black and migrant workers are simultaneously devalued and disciplined by state and corporate interests. The findings demonstrate that racial inequality is sustained through exploitative labour relations, institutional violence, and unequal access to public services, while migrant workers face added layers of legal precarity, xenophobic exclusion, and social invisibility. These overlapping systems create a structural configuration in which Black migrant workers remain especially vulnerable. The article concludes that addressing these injustices requires policy frameworks that confront racialized capitalism and protect migrant labour rights, thereby fostering a more equitable and inclusive social order in contemporary South Africa.