All charges against a couple who were forced to dig up their own child’s body were dropped in the Koppies Magistrate’s Court in the northern Free State on Tuesday.
Maria Mnisi and Phineas Johnson stood accused with their former employer Fanie Hyman of violating a grave.
Hyman allegedly forced Mnisi and Johnson to dig up the coffin of their one-month-old son John Mnisi on Hyman’s farm after they had apparently resigned from his employment.
He allegedly then drove them and the coffin to Pretoria and left them at a scrapyard.
The charge of violating a grave is still pending against Hyman, who will appear in court again on June 4. The state indicated that it might bring additional charges.
Earlier, about a thousand protesters had gathered in front of the court. Protesters holding placards said the incident angered them. ”You don’t belong to civil society, Fanie,” a poster read. Another said: ”Why do you tamper with an innocent soul?” — Sapa