/ 17 September 2007

Jo’burg schoolboy dies in stabbing at party

An 18-year-old grade-11 pupil at King Edward VII School in Houghton, Johannesburg, was stabbed several times at a house party in Randburg on Sunday.

Mfundo Ntshangase was allegedly pulled out of a car, assaulted by a group of boys and then stabbed to death by one of the group at about 3am on Sunday morning.

A teacher at King Edward VII, who did not want to be named, told the Mail & Guardian Online on Monday that Thabo Linda — another pupil at the same school — had also been stabbed when he intervened in the attack on Ntshangase.

”The other boy who was stabbed [Linda] is not in hospital as reported by newspapers; he is actually at home right now,” the teacher said.

The teacher also said that the school could not confirm that the incident was a result of school rivalries. ”We have no proof that it was a result of school rivalry as it happened outside of school premises and we unfortunately can’t disclose the name of the school that the other boys come from.”

Johannesburg police spokesperson Captain Cheryl Engelbrecht told the M&G Online on Monday that pupils from four different schools attended the house party.

”We have found out that there were kids from four different schools, and among them were gate crashers, but most of the kids were invited,” said Engelbrecht.

Engelbrecht confirmed that cases of murder and attempted murder will be opened against the perpetrators. ”We are investigating the case and there is a task team that will specifically handle this case, because it is a complex case that involves teenagers, so correct procedures must be followed,” she said.