By Clive Ndou
"The two men were fighting over the gun and the next thing I heard a bang and felt a terrible pain in my leg; I thought I was going to die."
This is how 10-year-old Sabelo Mvelase described the incident that could have cost him his life when an allegedly drunk and trigger-happy passenger ran amok in a taxi at Durban's beachfront on New Year's day.
Another youngster, 13-year-old Mzizi Mgwili, was also shot in the leg in the incident.
The shock caused by the incident is still written all over the grade five pupil's face. When he was discharged from Addington Hospital on Thursday, Sabelo was no longer the talkative boy his KwaMashu family knew.
With support from his aunt, Dawn Mvelase, the traumatised boy struggled to relate the experience that ruined his enjoyment of the New Year holiday.
"We caught a taxi outside the Wheel shopping centre. There was a man sleeping on one of the seats and another passenger was arguing with him.
"My brother Mfana and I sat at the back. The two men continued arguing and then the man who had been sleeping took out a gun and they began fighting over it. The next thing I heard was a big noise."
"I'm very happy I didn't die and that I will be able to walk properly," said Sabelo.
Sabelo is indeed a lucky young man; the bullet only grazed his leg. Mzizi Mgwili, however, was more seriously wounded when the bullet went through his left thigh.
Police confirmed that the suspect was drunk and that he had no licence for his firearm. Superintendent Vasie Naidu said the suspect was in custody and would be charged with attempted murder.