Rustenburg - Seven Marikana men accused of murder were granted R5,000 bail each at the Rustenburg Magistrate's Court on Thursday.
Magistrate Andre Kleynhans said bail was granted due to various reasons, such as not enough cross examination of the accused and credibility of eyewitness statements.
"The investigating officer added late into the bail hearing that the murder took place at 6pm. While in the statements it is stated that the murder took place between 4.45pm and 5.15pm. The state prosecutor said the murder time was between 4pm and 5pm," he said, adding that such mistakes killed the credibility of a case.
He added that the issue of witness safety was irrelevant, as the evidence provided by the accused was not contested and the time at which the murder took place was of importance.
"The investigating officer alleged the mob involved in the killing of [Sabata Petros] Chale contained about 60 people. There are a lot of people at large who will never answer to the murder. Any of those people can cause harm to the witnesses. Witnesses were attacked with the accused in custody," the magistrate furthe ruled.
Samson Gqwetani, Gift Luveli, Nkululeko Msithwa, Nkosindiphile Nziyose, Luvo Soyizwaphi, Sivuyile Qasha and Mzolisi Mbulana were granted bail and their case was postponed to September 12.
"The accused testified under oath. Accused eight and nine were strenuously cross examined. The evidence they provided was not contested."
Kleynhans said it was of no use to deny the accused bail, only to have them acquitted later. He was also concerned that the case had dragged on unnecessarily.
"The murder took place on December 8, 2016, the accused were arrested between February and May 2017. With the bail hearing taking this long, how long will the actual case take?" he asked.
The State alleges the seven, together with Aubrey Seitsang, Sibonile Sobopha, Mdlondozi Fundiwo, Herbert Baqhesi, Napoleon Webster, William Nyanyane and Aphindile Phungone, hacked Sabata Petros Chale to death in Marikana West on December 8, 2016.
Seitsang, Sobopha, Fundiwo, Baqhesi, and Nyenyane were previously denied bail, while Webster was released on a R3,000 bail on July 28, after he approached the North West High Court to appeal the decision to denied him bail. Phungone was also released on R2,000 bail.