South African miners to lay murder charges against police

JOHANNESBURG (AFP) - Representatives of 12,000 fired Anglo American Platinum workers in South Africa said Sunday they plan to lay murder charges against police after a colleague was killed in clashes with the authorities.

"What we want to do tomorrow is to open a case against the SAPS (South African Police Service)," said Mr George Tyobeka, a worker representative at the mine in north-western town Rustenburg.

The Amplats worker, identified by mine workers as Mtshunquleni Qakamba, 48, was killed on Thursday when police fired rubber bullets and teargas to disperse a gathering of strikers on a hill.

"They shot against the people ... until they killed one of our colleagues," Mr Tyobeka told AFP, adding that the workers wanted to file charges of murder and attempted murder. "Employees weren't fighting, they were just sitting on the hill," he said.