The 16-year-old accused of the stabbing of a six-year-old girl at an Umhlali school on October 13, in an attack he allegedly intended to escalate into a mass shooting, had applied to join the far-right Vryburger Beweging in December 2025.

His application was rejected two months later because of ideological differences, according to the organisation, reports The North Coast Courier.

However, the teenager’s alleged involvement with the movement, including his attendance at one of its demonstrations in Pretoria, has raised questions about the extent of his association with the group and his alleged radicalisation.

Former classmates described the teenager as a staunch supporter of Nazism and Adolf Hitler. A manifesto attributed to him and obtained by the Courier describes Hitler as a hero, while photographs from his social media accounts show him wearing a replica Nazi visor cap bearing the Hoheitszeichen (Nazi eagle) and Totenkopf (death’s head) insignia associated with the German SS uniform.

Manifestos detail plans for school attack, bomb plot

Two manifestos published on Telegram and attributed to the teenager outline alleged plans for violence linked to the Ballito mall bomb plot in March and the October 13 school attack.

The second document, titled ‘Mass school shooting ig lol’, suggests that he intended to emulate the 2022 Uvalde school shooting in Texas, in which 19 children and two teachers were killed.

In the manifesto, he also refers to his alleged involvement with the Vryburger Beweging.

“I want to also mention my service I did back in 2025. Die Vryburger Beweging, a neo-Nazi Afrikaans militia I served in,” he wrote.

The teenager also claimed to have attended a December 16 demonstration in Pretoria, where he was photographed holding the movement’s flag.

The Vryburger Beweging confirmed his attendance but said the demonstration lasted less than an hour. It denied that he had received training or participated in any other activities during his probationary period.

“There are also no physical or ideological training programmes to become a Vryburger. The teen did not undergo any training or attend any programmes during his probationary period,” the organisation said.

It condemned the alleged crimes and said his application had been rejected after members discovered his interest in Satanism, which it said conflicted with the organisation’s Christian values.

Expert questions movement’s claims over radicalisation

Retired Colonel Tollie Vreugdenburg, former national head of counter-terrorism at the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, questioned the organisation’s account of the teenager’s involvement.

Vreugdenburg, who has twice received the Silver Cross for Bravery, was involved in investigations into far-right extremist activities, including the Boeremag treason case and the foiling of a suspected right-wing terrorist plot targeting ANC leadership ahead of the party’s 53rd elective conference in Bloemfontein in 2012.

He questioned how the organisation had monitored the teenager closely enough to identify his alleged religious interests if their interaction had been limited to a brief demonstration.

“How did they monitor him to find out that he follows other religions and groups? All of this can only happen if they are in close proximity to each other on a regular basis, like at a camp or something similar,” he said.

Vreugdenburg warned that several extremist movements in South Africa exploit fears of racial conflict to attract and recruit young people.

He pointed to the ‘Night of the Long Knives’, sometimes referred to as ‘Uhuru’ in extremist conspiracy narratives, which predicts widespread racial violence against white South Africans.

He said some groups used such conspiracy narratives to promote their ideologies and prepare recruits for violence, including through paramilitary-style youth camps. He drew comparisons with the Hitler Youth movement in Nazi Germany.

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