Police officials arrested in connection with the 2012 Marikana killings have been released on bail. They are charged with various crimes including murder, attempted murder, and defeating the ends of justice and contravention of the Ipid Act.
The appearance of the nine police officials relates to two separate incidents. On 13 August, three mine workers and two police officials were killed during a clash between the two groups during a march by mine workers.
According to evidence led in court senior cops, Gen William Mpembe and Lieutenant Colonel Salmon Vermaak failed to disclose full information about events on that day. The two have been released on R5000 bail.
Mpembe was the overall commander during police operations on the 13th while Vermaak, was in charge of the airwing.
Four others face a murder charge each. They are from operational units around the country and were deployed to Marikana during the violent wage strike.
Four police officials including Gen Mpembe also appeared on a charge of defeating the ends of justice. They were allegedly involved in an incident on 16 August where the body of another worker was discovered in a police vehicle. This incident was never reported.
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