The former deputy police commissioner in the North West, General William Mpembe, and three other senior police officers have been acquitted on all three charges relating to the August 2012 Marikana massacre.
Mpembe, along with his co-accused, Brigadier Jacobus van Zyl, Brigadier Dingaan Madoda and Lieutenant-Colonel Oupa Pule, faced a charge of defeating the ends of justice for allegedly concealing information about the murder of Modisaotsile van Wyk Segalala.
ALSO READ: Marikana trial : ‘cops dropped the ball’
Segalala died in a police van after miners participated in a wage strike on 16 August 2012.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson Henry Mamothame said the men were also acquitted on charges of contravening the IPID Act by not reporting the death of a miner in police custody, and also of contravening the Commission’s Act by not disclosing the death of Segalala in their report.
He said the NPA will study the judgment to “in order to make an informed decision”.
For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.
Download our app and read this and other great stories on the move. Available for Android and iOS.