A Congolese learner at Salt River High School was beaten so severely in a xenophobic attack by classmates she remains in hospital two weeks later.

The accused, believed to have been known by the victim and her family, made his first court appearance at the Plettenberg Bay Magistrate's Court.

Since the beginning of the Dros rape trial with accused rapist Nicholas Ninow, South African citizens have been invested in how the trial would end.