Griekwastad – Crowds have gathered at the Griekwastad Magistrate’s Court in the Northern Cape ahead of the expected appearance of a teenage boy in connection with the murder of the Steenkamp family.

The boy cannot be named as he is a minor.

Friends and relatives of the Steenkamp family, killed on their farm Naauwhoek in the Northern Cape on Good Friday, had arrived at the court. Media were also present.

A magistrate from the neighbouring town of Groblershoop was expected to hear the case after the local magistrate recused himself.

Some media groups had applied for permission to be present in the courtroom for the boy’s appearance, but it was not yet clear whether they would be allowed.

The 16-year-old boy was arrested on Tuesday in Bloemfontein.

Northern Cape farmer Deon Steenkamp, 44, his wife Christelle, 43, and their daughter Marthella, 14, were shot.

Police said at the time that Steenkamp’s teenage son heard shots fired while he was busy in an outside storeroom at about 18:30.

He discovered the bodies in the living room and drove to the police station in town to report the killings.

He also handed two firearms over to police, which he said he had found at the scene.

SAPA