Two suspected illegal miners were granted bail by the Orkney Magistrates Court in the North West while 26 others, mostly from Lesotho, were remanded in custody.
The suspects were arrested last Wednesday, while they were being transported in three taxis. It is alleged that some of the suspects fired shots at the police, who returned fire, resulting in the death of one of the suspects.
It emerged in court that three of the suspects were South Africans, and the rest were from Lesotho. The third suspect, who’s South African, was however not granted bail, as the court must still verify his address.
Two other suspects, from Lesotho, informed the court that they were minors. But they were remanded in custody, as the court wanted to verify the information with relevant authorities.
The suspects are facing charges of conspiracy to commit a crime and contravention of the Immigration Act. The case was postponed to 26 July for status verification and advice.
