A teenager has been charged with murder after killing a man who allegedly tried to rape her.

A 17-year-old girl, who handed herself in to South African police, has been charged with murder after killing a man who allegedly tried to rape her.

“She was on her way to a local tavern when she was allegedly attacked by the deceased and fought back,” police said.

As she is considered a minor under South African law she cannot be named, but she has been arraigned before a Leneyene Magistrate’s Court where she is expected to say she acted in self-defence.

She will be assigned a councillor and social worker to help her with the case.

The country has one of the highest incidences of rape in the world with more than 60,000 cases every year.

The court case is set to resume today, 14th June.