Murder charges against striking Marikana miners withdrawn
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Your support makes all the difference.Prosecutors have provisionally withdrawn murder charges against 270 miners who had been accused of killing 34 striking colleagues shot dead by police, but said they could be recharged when investigations are complete.
Public anger had been mounting at the charges, made under an apartheid-era law which deemed the miners had a "common purpose" in the murder of their co-workers.
The police killing of strikers last month at the Marikana mine, run by the platinum producer Lonmin, was the worst such security incident since the end of white rule in 1994, and recalled scenes of apartheid-era state brutality in South Africa. "Final charges will only be made once all investigations have been completed. The murder charges against the current 270 suspects will be formally withdrawn provisionally in court," Nomgcobo Jiba, the acting National Director of Prosecutions, said in a televised news conference yesterday.
In all, 44 people were killed in the wave of violence stemming from an illegal strike and union turf war.
President Jacob Zuma has seen his support erode over the state's handling of the matter, with his opponents saying he is more interested in protecting the industry and powerful labour groups than the miners. Reuters
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