FRIDAY, 2.00PM
A COURT case in the Thabazimbi Magistarate’s Court in Northern Province on Friday may hold the key to the recent spae of assinations of National Union of Mineworkers officials at Anglo American Planinum Mines in the Northern and North-West provinces.
Twenty-two suspects arrested by police in the past fortnight at Amplats’ Amandelbult mine in connection with the killings will apply for bail on Friday. It is believed they will be represented by Workers’ Mouthpeace Uniobn lawyer Caesar Bungane, though it remains unknown whether the men are members of the union.
Police this week said nobody has come forward with information to aid their investigation, despite a R250 000 reward offered by Amplats. Meanwhile, members of the police investigation team were dispatched to Transkei this week to conduct background checks on the arrested suspects.
In another development, Eastern Cape police believe a plot to launch a new violent attack at the funeral of one of the NUM members killed last week was violently thwarted this week. Two men were shot and killed in an ambush on their car in Transkei last weekend. They were found to be heavily armed, and are believed to be members of the Workers’ Mouthpeace. It is believed they were intent on attacking the funeral of NUM shop steward Simon Chalana and his son, who were killed in Chalana’s hostel room at Rustenburg platinum mine. They are to be buried at Mount Frere this weekend.
Meanwhile, it emerged this week that Peoples Assurance Brokers, a company apparently owned by Piet and Matt Joubert, leaders and founders of the Workers’ Mouthpeace, is not registered as a company. Checks on Piet Joubert reveal numerous debt judgments against him.
Four people were injured in a shack at Nkaneng village near Rustenburg early on Friday morning in an attack believed to be related to the ongoing violence at Rustenburg mines.
A grenade was thrown into the shack and shots fired during the attack. The injured were treated at Bleskop hospital. All four injured are members of Workers’ Mouthpeace.