Fifteen-year-old boy appears in court for allegedly kidnapping, robbing, killing soldier

A 15-year-old boy appeared in the Blue Downs Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday on charges of murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, and kidnapping, in connection with the abduction of soldier Michael Njomane.

The teenager was arrested on Tuesday and appeared in camera (closed proceedings) because he is a minor.

Minors facing charges are ordinarily assisted by a social worker and as part of the court process, it must be established whether they have the criminal capacity.

National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said the boy’s case was postponed to the same court on Thursday, where he is expected to appear with another person who was arrested so far. Njomane’s body was found in the boot of a burnt-out government car, also in Blue Downs.

The City of Cape Town’s fire brigade discovered the body after they were called to extinguish a car fire on August 18.

Blue Downs is a mixture of residential suburbs, open fields, small livestock farms and sand dunes, with roads twisting and turning between the barren and built-up sections.

Ntabazalila named the co-accused as Theo Loggenberg.

In the meantime, as the two return to court on Thursday, the grieving Njomane family will hold a private memorial service for him.

Njomane is survived by his wife and four dependents.

His funeral is expected to be held in Idutywa in the Eastern Cape on Saturday. He was recently transferred to one of the military units in Cape Town and had been in service since June 1994. The SA National Defence Force is supporting the police’s anti-gang and anti-crime operations in Cape Town.

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