Shop steward deaths unrelated to unions: Police

The deaths of two men reported to be shop stewards within the Association of Mineworkers and Construction (AMCU) was unrelated to labour union unrest, North West police said on Thursday.

 

Brigadier Thulani Ngubane said police attended a crime scene on Saturday at an informal settlement in Phokeng, near Rustenburg.

 

He said police believed, following preliminary investigations, that the two deaths were as a result of a quarrel arising from a social gathering that took place the weekend before.

 

At the time of the incident, the two men were also in the company of another man and a girlfriend of one of the men. They were both unharmed.

 

"The incident is not related at all to the situation within the labour unions or the mining sector," said Ngubane.

 

"It is disingenuous for anybody to suggest that the incident in question is related to the labour unions or mining. They are not related."

 

Amcu president Joseph Mathunjwa was not immediately available for comment.

 

-Sapa