SOUTH AFRICA: GROUP OF BOYS ASSAULT TEEN OUTSIDE SCHOOL

A 15-year-old boy accused of hitting another boy outside an Eersterust high school is charged with assault with the intent to cause great bodily damage.

His alleged victim, who is also 15 years old, had a major head injury. He was cut with a belt buckle during an after-school fight, needing stitches.

Rea Thusa/We Help, a nonprofit organisation, claims that eight high school boys attacked the injured boy. On Tuesday, this incident took place in front of Prosperitus High School.

From Eersterust Secondary School, the teenager proceeded to Prosperitus to wait outside for his friend. However, a gang of boys began making fun of him, according to Virginia Keppler of Rea Thusa/We Help.

“One boy slapped him in the face and the two started fighting. When the others saw their friend was losing the fight, they all started attacking [the victim],” she said.

The boy allegedly suffered from punches, kicks, belt buckle beatings, and whippings with thorny branches.

He would undoubtedly die or sustain serious injuries if a tuk-tuk driver did not stop, seize the boy from their grasps, and drive away with him, she said.

The mother of the victim went to the Eersterust Police Station to file a complaint against the attackers of her son. Additionally, he was escorted to a district doctor where he received stitches for his head injury.

However, the mother, Eveline Eppit, claims that the investigating officer instructed her to conduct her own investigations into the case.

“He told her to go to the school and find out the identities of the boys and their home addresses. According to Eveline, the investigating officer said he could not go to the school himself,” Keppler said.

The mother reportedly saw the same group of boys in the principal’s office when she went to the Prosperitus school. They were reportedly called in for her son’s assault.

“I still cannot believe that the police asked me to do their job for them. What are they there for?” Eveline Eppit asked.

Eight of the boys have been suspended from the school, according to Keppler. She indicated that other suspensions might follow.

The fact that a teenage boy was arrested suggests that the police eventually looked into the situation. This boy is accused of hitting the victim with a belt buckle.

According to the docket, more than 10 boys participated in the assault, according to Sam Shibambo, a spokesperson for the Eersterust police.

“A suspect, who is also 15-years-old, will appear in court according to the child justice processes of mediation. After his arrest, he was released under the care of his parents. He faces charges of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm since he used an instrument – the belt buckle,” Shibambo said.