No case opened yet for boy shot on lips

Durban - The mother of 10-year-old Skhumbuzo Soni, the boy who was allegedly hit on the lips by a police rubber bullet, has not been able to open a case. 

The incident took place last Friday in Willowfontein, Pietermaritzburg, while police were dispersing protesters.

Thembi Soni said she went to the police station on Monday to open a case. 

She was told by police that she needed to bring the boy along as “proof”.

Because of work commitments, Soni was unable to fetch him and had to arrange to return to the police station another day. 

Soni said a policeman, Captain Musa Ntombela, at the Willowfontein police station contacted her and told her he would fetch them both after work to take them to the police station to ensure she was attended to and the case opened. 

The boy’s condition was “awful” since the incident, she said, and he had not been the same child after his ordeal. 

“His teeth are still in pain; he has difficulty eating and talking. I suspect the incident has affected his brain. He’s just not the same child anymore,” Soni said.

Skhumbuzo suffered a split upper lip that will require surgical repair because of the delay in getting him to a hospital. 

Paramedics had been unable to get to the area on time because of the protest over lack of water supply.

The Willowfontein Primary School Grade 4 pupil was said to be “sharp” at school and has, to date, passed with good marks.

“Yesterday I left him with strict instructions not to go to school, but to stay with his grandmother. Somehow he sneaked off to school on his own. I received a frantic call from the school principal saying the child was not in good shape to be at school,” Soni said. 

She and her husband work together at a garage and do not have the means to pay for the medical treatment necessary. 

“I’m hurting because I can’t even afford a lawyer to fast-track the processes for my child to get justice. 

“If I finally open the case, without a lawyer I stand to lose it, because it is a state department that is responsible for my child’s suffering,” she said.

On Wednesday morning, Soni said a case had not yet been opened.

“The police have not arrived. It feels like they are not interested. I don’t know who to turn to,” she said.

Captain Ntombela confirmed he had promised to assist Soni.

“I have personally sent officers to her home on Tuesday but on whether a case has been opened, I can only find out during the course of the day,” he said.