Kimberley – The four high school boys accused of stripping a black pupil, painting him white and raping him with a broom handle at Hoer Landbouskool in Jan Kempdorp are expected to appear in the town’s magistrate’s court on Thursday.

The youths, aged between 14 and 18, were arrested shortly after the attack in January.

They were granted bail of R1 000 each. They have been suspended from the school since January 9. They each face rape and assault charges.

The Northern Cape’s department of education spokesperson Sydney Stander said last month that the boy had not left the school and that he was receiving support at an undisclosed venue.

There had been no contact between the four boys and the school, or the victim and the boys, Stander said.