Cape Town – An 11-year-old will be “assessed” preceding his appearance in court for murder, police have said.
The matter of the child who is alleged to have stabbed and killed a 12-year-old during an altercation in Borchards, George, did not proceed in the George Magistrate’s Court in the Southern Cape as expected yesterday.
According to police, the 11-year-old allegedly stabbed the other child last Wednesday, June 24. The victim sustained a stab wound to the neck and died on the scene.
After being taken into custody last Wednesday evening, he was released into the care of his parents pending his court appearance, police said.
Police spokesperson Chris Spies said yesterday that the case would be brought before the court once an assessment of the child was finalised.
“This matter did not proceed in court today as anticipated due to a number of factors, but the case will be brought before court once the assessment of the child is finalised. Investigation into this case is at an advanced stage and the investigation continues.”
Community leader Mervin Olivier said Borchards residents had learnt
of the stabbing with shock and
outrage.
He said residents visited both the families of the deceased and the 11-year-old today, the latter along with social workers to try and assess the situation.
“The reality is the socio-economics of the situation. His father is also someone who is not around him. The area we are staying in makes boys very vulnerable, especially teenagers and young people, because of the violence that surrounds them.
“The community is very angry and aggrieved about the situation, but the thing about it is that it is youngsters who have done this.
“We are getting these gangs in our areas, the people that are naughty, those things are the influence and the area that he stays in is so violent, people use pangas and knives.
“The community is still very shocked about this, very shocked,” said Olivier.
Provincial shadow MEC for Community Safety, Mesuli Kama, said child murders continued unabated in the province.
“Our child and youth-care facilities in the province are filled with young children who have been remanded there for criminal activities.
“It is a sign that children are easy targets for gangs, because the behaviour shown by this boy is learned from gang behaviour.
It is something that the children’s commissioner should look at, how to assist young children in the province to unlearn gang and criminal mentality. The interests of children should be prioritised in this matter,” said Kama.