GBV organisation wants 17-year-old accused of killing Deveney Nel (16) tried
Deveney Nel was found stabbed to death in a storeroom at Overberg High School two weeks ago.
The late Overberg High School pupil, Deveney Nel. Picture: Facebook/Reeva Rebecca Steenkamp Foundation
CAPE TOWN - An organisation combatting gender-based violence wants a 17-year-old boy accused of killing a 16-year-old girl in Caledon, tried as an adult.
Deveney Nel was found stabbed to death in a storeroom at Overberg High School two weeks ago.
A fellow learner was arrested on Friday, and he's being kept at a place of safety following a court appearance on Monday.
One Billion Rising SA activist in Caledon, Tanya Bippert, says communities across the Theewaterskloof region are supporting the girl's family.
"The court proceeding was closed to the public as the alleged perpetrator is a minor.... We stood with one message: No bail and justice for Deveney. We ask that her perpetrator be tried as an adult as we need to consider the severity of the crime committed against an innocent life."
However, Centre for Child Law's Karabo Ozah says there are no provisions for charging children as adults.
"Legally, there is no way...not like in the US where they have provisions for trying children as adults and that comes from the Constitution but also the international law that we have domesticated.... One can understand the seriousness of the offence, that fact that people are scared and are worried."