Central SA
'Kingpin' added to Orkney #ZamaZama case─── LUCKY NKUYANE 12:39 Wed, 07 Sep 2022
A suspect deemed as a mastermind in the criminal case involving 87 illegal miners who were arrested in Orkney near Kanana outside Klerksdorp after a bloody shootout in North West has been added to the police charge sheet.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority's (NPA) regional spokesperson, Henry Mamothame, the alleged kingpin, Thethile Master Boyce (60), was added to the charge sheet as the 88th suspect.
ALSO READ: Kingpin to be added in illegal mining case in North West
On Tuesday, 87 miners and their accomplices - one labelled a kingpin by the Hawks - appeared at the Stilfontein regional’s court near Khuma to face charges of six counts of murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, conspiracy to commit robbery, illegal mining, illegal possession of automatic firearms, attempted murder and contravening the immigration act.
Mamothame says the miners were all remanded in custody after their legal representative failed to pitch up in court - with no reason provided for his absence. The illegal miners were arrested by the Hawks at a mine shaft in Orkney in 2021. Eight of them were wounded whilst six died following a shootout with the police.
One police officer was also wounded.
ALSO READ: Two shootouts leave several illegal miners dead in NW
Boyce is out on R2000 bail, while the other 87 suspects remain in police custody.
“The Hawks’ investigations revealed that Boyce is a taxi owner who allegedly transported the suspected illegal miners to and from the mine, and transported food. His taxi was seized by the Hawks, after his arrest.
"The eight injured have since been discharged from the hospital and are now in police custody. Following the shootout, police discovered two mini-busses, illegal mining paraphernalia, gold-bearing material, and eleven Illegal firearms (3 x shotguns, 3 x rifles, 4 x pistols and 1 x revolver) and bags of food,” Mamothame adds.
The Stilfontein Regional Court has since postponed the case against the suspected illegal miners, arrested at Shaft 2 in Orkney to 12 October 2021.
“The court warned against further delays on this matter, as the last postponement was prompted by the defendant’s failure to provide the state with a hard drive, at which the content of the docket, which includes video footage will be provided for pre-trial to commence,” Mamothame further adds.
