Public violence charges against mining community members withdrawn after 18 months
Charges against six members of the North West-based Bua Mining Communities social movement who were charged with illegal gathering and public violence were withdrawn last week, owing to a lack of State witnesses.
The activists were arrested in March 2013 and accused of public violence and contravening Section 12(1)(a) and Section 3 of the Regulation of Gatherings Act, No 205 of 1993. The activists were protesting against mining in their area – particularly, the Styldrift project, run by the Royal Bafokeng Platinum Mine – and against the Bafokeng Traditional Authority, who they claim is acting unfairly in the allocation of job opportunities in the area.
“The activists were peacefully protesting on Human Rights Day against the impacts that mining has on their communities, including noise and air pollution, land grabs and evictions. The community activists claimed that their march was violently dispersed by the local South African Police Service and that they were arrested without charge and held for seven days without a hearing. Some had sustained injuries from rubber bullets,” says law clinic Legal Resources Centre (LRC) communications officer Claire Martens.
Thus, the LRC questioned the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) on the charges and requested detailed particulars in relation to the allegations in the charge sheet, including details of the allegation that the activists were required to obtain permission from the Bafokeng Traditional Authority to conduct their march.
Following the request by the LRC, all charges against the activists were withdrawn, with a letter addressed to the LRC by the NPA stating that the charges had been withdrawn owing to the fact that no property had been damaged and because the State did not want to burden some of the younger accused activists with criminal records.
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