Mine murder charges are withdrawn

Strikers freed in bid to quell fury after shootings

SOUTH AFRICA: Prosecutors provisionally withdrew murder charges against 270 miners accused of killing 34 striking colleagues shot dead by police.

However, they could be recharged when investigations are complete.

Public anger had been mounting at the charges, made under an apartheid-era law under which the miners were deemed to have had a “common purpose” in the mur der of their co-workers.

The police killing of the strikers last month at the Marikana mine, run by platinum producer Lonmin, was the worst such security incident since the end of white rule in 1994, and recalled scenes of state brutality from that era.

“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 The murder charges against the current 270 suspects will be formally withdrawn provisionally in court,” Nomgcobo Jiba, the acting national director of prosecutions, said.

The miners will be released from prison.

In all, 44 people were killed in the wave of violence stemming from an illegal strike and union turf war.

Top members of the ruling African National Congress had also expressed dismay at the charges as a public backlash gathered.

“We are all surprised and confused by the National Prosecuting Authority’s legal strategy,” the ANC’s chief whip in parliament said.

Talks to end the strike at Lonmin, the world’s third-largest platinum producer, were set to resume this week after weekend funerals for the slain workers.