Johannesburg - A minor, one of four people accused of killing Mozambican hawker Emmanuel Sithole, is being dragged back to court every two weeks until the trial continues in order to comply with the Child Justice Act.
The trial was postponed on Friday after a brief sitting in which only the minor appeared. Mthinto Bhengu, Sizwe Mngomezulu, Sifundo Mzimela and the 17-year-old youth, who cannot be named, are facing charges of murder and assault with grievous bodily harm for allegedly killing Sithole in Alexandra in an apparent xenophobic attack in April.
All four have pleaded not guilty to the charges. Friday’s proceedings lasted less than five minutes. Prosecutor Jacob Tloubatla explained to The Star that because one of the accused is a minor, the case may not be postponed for more than 14 days at a time, in line with the Child Justice Act. The minor will, therefore, appear briefly on his own again in two weeks’ time, on August 7, before the trial continues on August 17.
The boy was being held in a place of safety in the meantime.
Earlier in the trial, the court heard how Sithole was hit over the head with a wrench, stabbed in his chest with a knife, beaten and jumped on before succumbing to his injuries. Forty-nine photos taken by journalists who witnessed the attack were shown to the court.
The Star