On Wednesday afternoon, May 8, two school boys from different schools got into a fight while on their way home, resulting in a tragic outcome. According to Captain Stephen Thakeng, spokesperson for the South African Police Service (SAPS) in Free State, a nine-year-old boy retrieved a knife from his home and returned to the scene, where he fatally stabbed a 10-year-old boy.
Thakeng stated, "Police were informed about the incident and upon arrival, found a 10-year-old boy, still in school uniform, lying inside the ambulance with a stab wound on the left side of his chest." Paramedics discovered a silver stainless steel knife with a black handle nearby. The victim, identified by his mother, was pronounced dead at the scene in one of the streets of Nomzamo Park, Brandfort.
Both boys were in Grade 4 at different primary schools in Brandfort. An inquest has been opened, and the nine-year-old has been handed over to his parents for referral to social services, Thakeng added.
This incident mirrors a similar case from October 2022, where a 16-year-old stabbed another teen, aged 15, to death following a fistfight. The trial for the accused began in February 2024 at the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court. The defense claimed that the accused had no intention of murdering the other boy. However, the teenager was convicted and sentenced to five years in prison.
