CASE AGAINST 17 MINERS ACCUSED OF MURDER AND OTHER SERIOUS CHARGES REMOVED PENDING THE OUTCOME OF THE REVIEW APPLICATION
The case against the 17 accused of murder and other serious offences committed in Marikana in 2012, was removed from the court roll by the High Court of South Africa; North West Division, sitting at the Mogwase Regional Court.
In passing judgement, Acting Judge Andrew Reddy highlighted some considerations he made, particularly the rights of the accused to have a fair trial, the interest of the families of the deceased and the plight of the witnesses in the matter.
The judge further made it clear that the removal of this matter is not a verdict but merely a pause to await the outcome of the review application registered by the accused persons. The Judge further indicated that copies of this judgement will be shared with the Judge President of the North West High Court, Judge President of the Gauteng High Court Division, National Director of Public Prosecutions, Director of Public Prosecutions in the North West and the office of the State Attorney in Pretoria. This he hopes will expedite the conclusion of the review application.
The accused are charged with 7 counts of murder, 4 of malicious damage to property, 4 of robbery, 3 for unlawful possession of firearms, and 3 for unlawful possession of ammunition. These charges are related to the labour disputes between mine workers of Lonmin Karee Mine and Impala Platinum Mine (Implats) and their employers when they participated in unprotected wage strikes that led to the loss of lives and damage to property.
The matter was set for trial from 06 to 10 March 2023; however one of the accused was not present on the first day and the matter was rolled over to the next day. The state indicated on the record that it was ready to proceed with the trial; however, the defence attorneys were reluctant to proceed as they waned the matter to be postponed or struck off the roll, pending the outcome of the review application they registered with the Gauteng Division of the High court.
The state opposed this move as an order was granted by the North West Judge President for trial to resume amid the pending review application. The state also believes it’s in the interest of justice for the trial to commence, considering the interest of the families of the deceased and of society in this matter. The matter last appeared on 29 November 2022, and it was postponed for trial as per the Judge President’s order. The court however opted to remove the matter off the court roll and the state notes and respects the court decision.
One of the accused is currently serving a life sentence for a murder related to the wage strike in Marikana in 2012.
