Eleven in court over gruesome death of Thoriso Themane

Eleven suspects accused of murdering Thoriso Themane appeared in the Polokwane Magistrate’s Court on a charge of murder on Friday.

“Nine of the accused are juveniles aged between 13 and 17 and have appeared in the children’s court. The case has been postponed to August 14 2019 pending the assessment report of the psychologist of accused six and seven,” the police and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said in a joint statement.

“The other accused, Chuene Maleka, 36, and Alfred Mothapo, 37 also appeared today on the same case in a separate courtroom. The case against them was remanded to August 6 2019 for further investigation.”

Thoriso, 28, was attacked on February 23 near the Flora Park dam in Polokwane.

The video of the attack went viral after it was captured on cellphone and circulated on social media. He died a day later at the Polokwane Hospital.