‘It will happen again to more African children’: Family of 16-year-old beaten outside Limpopo restaurant

NPA spokesperson Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi said Pretorius was also declared unfit to possess a firearm. The prosecuting authority believed the sentence would send a strong message to would-be offenders, he said.

The victim's family do not believe this will stop what they described as an attack prompted by racism. 

“White people beating up black people is a recurring thing in Groblersdal. Some were even killed and this sentence does not set an example for it to stop,” Lerato Makweng, the victim's older sister, said.

Makweng told TimesLIVE the family were disappointed with the sentence and would meet to discuss appealing against it. She said the family fears other black children in Groblersdal could suffer a similar fate.

Makweng said her brother's asthma had worsened as a result of being kicked in the chest.

“Before he was assaulted, he was no longer taking the medication and was recovering — but after that he had to start over again and take more medication. When he got home that night, he told us when he was on the floor and being beaten he could not breathe or stand up for about 10 minutes because of the asthma.”

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