South African Marikana miners charged with murder

Marikana: No common purpose to commit suicide

News that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has decided to charge 259 arrested Marikana miners with the murder of their 34 colleagues who were shot dead by the police, is bizarre and shocking and represents a flagrant abuse of the criminal justice system, probably in an effort to protect the police and/or politicians like Jacob Zuma and Nathi Mthethwa.

In the dying days of pre-democratic era, under increased internal and external pressure from opponents of apartheid, the state relied more and more on the provisions of the Riotous Assembly Act as well as the common purpose doctrine in an attempt to criminalise the actions of all people involved in protest against the National Party government.

Section 18 of the Riotous Assemblies Act of 1956 (which, incidentally, was never revoked by the new Parliament and is still on the statute books) states that any person who conspires with any other person to aid in the commissioning of a crime or incites or instigates any other person to commit a crime, is guilty of a crime – as if he or she committed the actual crime him or herself. Incitement to commit a crime is also a criminal offense in our common law.

The apartheid state often used this provision to secure a criminal conviction against one or more of the leaders of a protest march, or against leaders of struggle organisations like the ANC (and later the UDF) whose members (on the instructions of the leader or leaders), had taken part in sabotage activities or the assault or killing of representatives of the apartheid state. Even where that leader had not taken part in the sabotage or killing, he or she would be convicted of inciting the assault or the killing.
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http://constitutionallyspeaking.co.za/marikana-no-common-purpose-to-commit-suicide/