South Africa: 50 Marikana miners freed

4 Sep 2012, 6:09 am   -   Source: AAP
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The freed workers sang and danced as they left the court while 10 minibuses readied to take them back to Marikana. (Getty)

The freed workers sang and danced as they left the court while 10 minibuses readied to take them back to Marikana. (Getty)

The first batch of 270 miners have been released after their arrest for the killing of 34 fellow workers gunned down by police during a strike.

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A South African court has freed the first batch of 270 miners arrested for the killing of 34 fellow workers who were gunned down by police in a wildcat strike last month.

The court granted the release after prosecutors provisionally withdrew the murder charges amid public outrage following the bloodshed at Lonmin's Marikana mine in the worst day of police violence in post-apartheid South Africa.

"The murder charges against the accused are at this point of time withdrawn," said Magistrate Esau Bodigelo as he released 47 miners in the court north of Pretoria on Monday.

"You may stand down," he said as applause broke out in the courtroom.

The freed workers sang and danced as they left the court while 10 minibuses readied to take them back to Marikana.

"I'm going home now. I'm going to find my family in Marikana," Siyabulela Milo, 32, said.

The Marikana shooting, shocking footage of which was beamed around the world, conjured up images of apartheid-era police violence and cast the spotlight on crippling social inequality in South Africa.

Meanwhile, police said four people had been injured in a shooting at a gold mine in the east of Johannesburg, and a stayaway by 12,000 workers continued at another gold mine in the west of the city.

"We can confirm that there were four people who were taken to the hospital after they were injured," police spokeswoman Captain Pinky Tsinyane said.

The violence erupted after fired workers, armed with traditional sticks and iron irods, gathered on Monday at the Gold One mine from which they had been fired during an illegal stayaway in June and attacked reinstated miners.

Four people were arrested for attempted murder.

The shooting follows the deadly police action at the Lonmin mine northwest of Johannesburg on August 16 during a wildcat strike. Earlier violence left 10 people dead, including two police officers who were hacked to death.

The decision to charge the miners with murder triggered outrage over what in fact was a police crackdown.

The releases are being processed in batches, after the miners' addresses have been verified by police, with no bail required.

But the group will return to court on February 12 on charges of public violence and holding an illegal gathering.

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