Johannesburg - A murder case against six schoolboys accused of beating Thoriso Themane to death was postponed in the Polokwane Magistrate's Court on Thursday.
Court proceedings were delayed due to the arrest of the sixth suspect. All six teenage boys, aged between 15 and 16, appeared in camera as they are minors.
Outside court, people carrying placards and various political parties gathered in support of Themane's family, calling for justice to take its course against the accused. His family did not attend court proceedings on Thursday as they reportedly wanted to heal first before they could face the alleged killers.
Themane, 27, a local musician, was assaulted and left for dead on Saturday night in the Flora Park suburb. An oblivious Themane was returning home from music practice at church when he was accosted and attacked, allegedly by a mob of teenage boys.
Police said he was found on Sunday and taken to hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
Five schoolboys were arrested on Wednesday after video clips of the attack, which they shot themselves, went viral on social media. One of the video clips showed one of the arrested boys inside school premises. The teenager, wearing a school uniform, boasted about the killing while being recorded, saying that nothing would happen to him as his father was "untouchable". The boy's father is a retired police officer.
Sowetan newspaper reported that the retired cop refuted his son's allegations that he was ''untouchable''. The father, who could not be named to protect the son's identity, said the teenager informed him that Themane stole a cellphone belonging to one of his friends and that they pursued him to retrieve it. It was the first time his son was involved in criminal activities, he told the newspaper.
The six boys will appear again next week.