JOHANNESBURG, Oct 21 (Reuters) - South African prosecutorshave charged 17 miners with murder over the killing of 10 peopleduring a violent wildcat strike at platinum producer Lonmin's Marikana mine, their lawyer said on Wednesday.
The vortex of violence around the mine in August, 2012,culminated in the police shooting 34 striking miners dead,bringing the death toll to 44.
Lonmin, police and labour unions were blamed by anindependent probe called the Marikana Commission for theviolence and deaths.
Charges against the miners were initially withdrawn pendingthe findings of the commission, but had now be reinstated,lawyer Andries Nkome said on private station Talk Radio 702.
Nkome said he would seek to have the charges withdrawn asthe action was premature because the Marikana Commission hadrecommended an inquiry be made into who must be charged.
"We need to have a transparent process through which theevidence of the commission must be evaluated," Nkome said.
A total of 270 miners were arrested and charged followingthe shooting that became known as the "Marikana massacre" undera law dating from the apartheid era by which they are deemed tohave had a "common purpose" in the murder of their co-workers. (Reporting by Stella Mapenzauswa and Zandi Shabalala; Editingby Tom Heneghan)
