George Maswangany, Samson Makawa and a third man whose name was not known on Monday afternoon, face two charges of murder, two of kidnapping, two for robbery with aggravating circumstances and one for possession of stolen property.

It is suspected that more accused may be added to the list.  The men had their case postponed until a later date for a formal bail appearance.

The state prosecutor, San Barto, asked for no pictures to be published at this stage due to the sensitive nature of the ongoing investigation.

Rescue workers discovered two bodies in a deserted mine shaft on Sunday 09 November, after one of the accused confessed to doing so when questioned about the suspected stolen car he and his mates were arrested in.

The man led a police search party to the mine shaft on Saturday night and a rescue team set out early on Sunday morning to look for the bodies.

One of the victims, from Bronkhorstspruit, was hi-jacked near Middelburg on Tuesday night. Another is suspected to be a man reported missing some weeks ago.

The daughter of one of the deceased wrote to the Middelburg Observer pleading for something to be done about the escalating crime in the area.

Read previous story: Breaking News: Man thrown down mine shaft by hi-jackers