Fourteen Nigerian men, accused of public violence, appeared in the Rustenburg Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday.
Their case was postponed to January 26, for the lawyers representing two men to be present in court. The men told the court they would hire private attorneys to represent them.
Two opted for legal aid while nine others would conduct taxi rank was shut down on Tuesday.
The court ordered that their photographs or identity must not be published because there is still an identity parade to be conducted.
The men allegedly attacked people in Rustenburg Noord on Sunday night in what was suspected to be a revenge attack after houses occupied by Nigerians were set alight two weeks ago.
Eight guest houses were suspected of being drug dens and brothels were torched.
Alfred Motabogi who survived the attacked in Waterval on Sunday, said about 38 cars with Gauteng registration numbers, arrived with heavy armed Nigerian men.
They only shouted: “South Africans must die today”, before they smashed windows of three cars and beat up two men.
“I hide in the second floor and watched them as they damaged two of my cars.”
He went to the Rustenburg police station to open a charge of malicious damage to property and found the same group of Nigerians at the police.
“I learnt they were arrested for attacking people in Noord.”
He said he knew some of the men who damaged his cars as the live in the same area.
Another survivor George Nduli said the men asked the two men the found outside who was the taxi operators’ informer.
“Before they could respond they were kicked and beaten with knobkerries. One took a charge and smashed all of my cars windows.”
The State intends to oppose the bail application.
