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Charged with Murder for being Shot by Police

270 arrested Lonmin miners faced murder charges related to the deaths of 34 of their colleagues in line with "outdated" apartheid law but on Sunday, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) announced that murder charges were being dropped. The charges were based on the "common purpose" doctrine because the miners were in the crowd that allegedly incited police. The "common purpose" doctrine was used in the past by the old apartheid government against black activists fighting for their freedom. The contradiction is that the ANC campaigned against this doctrine and now they are using it themselves. In all this public outcry, which has led to the temporary dropping of the charges, those responsible for bringing the charges to court, namely the Acting National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP),Nomgcobo Jiba, and North West NPA prosecutions director Johan Smit have not admitted any error in their decision. Johan Smit in fact lost his cool at a media briefing saying "I'm not in the habit of arguing my cases in the media. If you feel you have better evidence than what I have before me, you can argue in court in their defence."

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