Hundreds of schoolchildren in South Africa's historic Soweto township fought running battles with police for a third day straight Friday after the alleged killing of four teenagers in a local drag racing incident involving a local hip-hop star, according to dpa. Police fired rubber bullets to disperse the children who amassed outside Protea magistrate's court outside Johannesburg to protest the granting of bail to musician, Molemo "Jub Jub" Maarohanye and his co- accused Themba Tshabalala. The pair have been charged with murder, attempted murder and reckless and drunken driving after they drove into a group of school pupils in two Mini Cooper cars on March 8. Witnesses say the accused were racing each other when an oncoming car forced one of the cars to swerve, causing the crash, in which four boys, aged between 16 and 19 were killed. Two others are still in critical condition in hospital. The clashes outside the courthouse took place as the judge was issuing his ruling in the pair's bail application. Groups of children mobbed passing cars and minibus taxes, jumping on the vehicles and, in some cases, attempting to rob the passengers, according to South Africa's SAfm public radio. Emotions over the deaths are running high in Soweto. The Congress of South African Students, which has organized the protests, has threatened to kill Jub Jub if he gets bail. Vigilante justice is common in poor communities in South Africa, where people suspected of theft, rape or other crimes are often attacked by mobs, sometimes fatally. Toxicology reports submitted to the court showed the two accused had taken morphine and cocaine. Tshabalala was also nearly two times over the alcohol limit, the court heard. Soweto, a collection of townships 25 kilometres south-west of Johannesburg, became famous in 1976, when thousands of children in school uniform took to the streets to protest the education policy of the racist apartheid regime. Scores of children were shot dead by police during months of protests, causing international outrage. The Hector Pietersen Museum in Soweto, named after a 12-year-old boy who died on the first day of the uprising, is a popular stop on the Soweto tourist trail. Soweto is also home to Soccer City stadium, the venue for the opening game and final in the upcoming World Cup.
