South Africa's Justice Minister Jeff Radebe said Friday that he has sought an explanation from state prosecutors for using an apartheid-era law to charge 270 miners from the Marikana mine with the murder of 34 colleagues who were shot dead by the police during a strike over wages earlier this week.
Radebe said in a statement issued Friday that he has asked the head of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) "to furnish me with a report explaining the rationale behind such a decision."
Noting that the NPA's decision had "induced a sense of shock, panic and confusion within the members of the community and the general South African public," Radebe stressed that the constitution requires the justice minister to "exercise final responsibility over the prosecuting authority".
The minister's response came a day after Frank Lesenyego, a spokesperson for the prosecutor's office, announced that the the 270 miners had been charged with the murder of their colleagues under the "common purpose law."
"This is under common law, where people are charged with common purpose in a situation where there are suspects with guns or any weapons and they confront or attack the police and a shooting takes place, and there are fatalities," Lesenyego said explaining the legal technicality under which the miners were charged.
Lesenyego added that an independent commission set up to probe the killings would rule on the conduct of the police officers involved in the shooting, stressing that the case against them was separate from the one against the miners.
The NPA's move had triggered an outrage in South Africa, as it came despite confirmation that the victims were shot dead by police. Incidentally, none of the police officers involved in the incident have been arrested or charged over the miners' deaths.
Several legal experts have since questioned the use of "common purpose" doctrine against the miners, pointing out that it is an outdated law which was used by the former white minority regime against activists fighting for racial equality during the apartheid.
The development comes after police opened fire striking workers at the Marikana mine on August 16. Thirty-four miners were killed in the police shooting, which was the most deadly police action since South Africa became a democracy in 1994.
Besides, ten other people, including two police officers and two security guards, were killed during the protests before the police opened fire on the miners. The protesting miners were demanding pay rises and recognition of a new union.
Following the shootings, 270 workers were arrested, including six miners who are still undergoing treatment at a hospital for injuries sustained in the shooting incident. On Wednesday, the Ga Rankuwa magistrates court, located near capital Pretoria, had delayed their bail hearings until September 6, and ordered them to remain in custody until then.
Incidentally, the platinum mine where the deadly police shooting took place is owned by Lonmin, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange. The dispute triggered by the police shooting has shut the mine for the past three weeks.
Although authorities have since said that the police action came after protesting miners attacked the enforcement officials, details leaked from the post-mortem reports of the 34 dead men suggested that they were shot in the back while running away from police officers.
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