School assault accused may soon face added charges
THE young man thought to feature in a disturbing video of a schoolyard assault that went viral last week, could soon be facing a number of charges.
Lindokuhle Dube, 19, appeared in the Ntuzuma Magistrate’s Court yesterday morning on a count of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm.
But public prosecutor Gugu Ntombela told the court there had been two crimes committed that day. “Allegedly, the accused, they were in an exam room and he got into an argument with the complainant’s twin sister… The accused assaulted her twin sister. They had to be separated by a teacher before the exam could proceed.”
Asked by magistrate D Misra if the State would be adding more charges, Ntombela said this was possible.
As for the assault for which he was before the court, Ntombela said yesterday that the girl in the video was standing with a friend, talking.
“He asked her if she was talking about him, she replied she wasn’t,” she said. “The accused then left. Later he came back and assaulted her.”
Ntombela said the girl tried to fight back, but that the boy was unrelenting until she started to bleed from her nose and another boy intervened.
Dube was granted bail of R1 500 yesterday. The State did not oppose bail.
Ntombela said he was not a flight risk.
She said the video was filmed in November and that he had made no attempt to flee since then.
Dube’s Legal Aid lawyer, Sphamandla Gumede, said his client’s mother worked at a Spur restaurant and could only afford R500.