The painted face, curly black wig and oversized clothing invited a second glance. But it was the gun he was pointing at his own head, and obviously too big for his tiny hand, which got their attention.
Child mimes have been the rage in Grahamstown during the National Arts Festival for years, but this child certainly drew attention.
Yet he was just one of many children wielding guns toy guns, that is.
While a cursory glance at stalls lining the streets showed about a quarter were selling toy guns, it was clear the patently fake sci-fi lasers were vastly outnumbered by the realistic handguns, and completely overshadowed by the menacing sniper rifles.
But what most stallholders didn't even think about is the Dangerous Weapons Act of 1968, which makes it illegal to sell or possess realistic replicas. This, the least-enforced aspect of that act, is a bit of legal sophistry many South Africans know nothing about.
While most of the stalls were manned by locals and not merchandise owners, there was one Cape Town stall owner who assured me the sniper rifle selling at R130 was a hot item which children asked for.
He didn't mind letting his own sons play with their drawer full of toy guns, and at R50 profit each, had even fewer qualms selling the rifles.
Another stall owner, George Kaboro, usually works out of Joburg, but goes around the country hawking at festivals.
He insisted he doesn't usually sell toy guns, but had come to the festival with what he'd taken possession of as part of another person's entire stall consignment, buying them at R5 each.
"I don't think I am doing the right thing. This is encouraging crime.
"Suppose I meet you at night with this gun, you won't know whether it's real," said Kaboro.
He explained that back home in Kenya he wasn't allowed to sell realistic toy guns or child-sized military-like uniforms, and he certainly wouldn't give them to his own son.
"What would I be teaching him? There's a message I'd be passing to him," said Kaboro.
But while he said he personally didn't like the realistic toy pistols, that wasn't about to stop him from making 100 percent profit on each one.
He was selling them at R10 and wasn't about to dump them because his conscience was niggling.
Wandering around Grahamstown that day I came across many children toting guns, or asking parents to buy them. Most of the time when I asked the adults why they did it, I was met with embarrassed laughter, self-conscious shrugs or even aggrieved aggression as they walked away.
So, when I heard Grahamstown resident Jean Hall refuse to buy one for her son, I stopped to listen.
Turns out she objected to spending money on a poorly made toy.
She's not opposed to children playing with plastic guns, as long as it is with protective gear, such as the goggles she insists her 10-year-old use.
"They'd use a stick to play with if they didn't have guns, and that can be even more dangerous," says Hall.
She used to be very anti-guns, and never wanted weapons in the house because her brother died in a gun-related incident.
But the most determined little boys can wear down even the most determined of mothers, so she now allows her son and his best friend to play with toy guns, under supervision.
At this point in the conversation her son interrupted her and asked who she was talking about, because she'd never mentioned a brother.
"His name was Patrick and we're not going to go there," she said to him before turning back to me to whisper: "He committed suicide.
"We grew up with guns. Our father would let us play with toy guns," she continued.
Hall believes parental attitude is important, and children should be allowed to explore gun play in controlled circumstances.
But what does it mean if your parent is the one putting the gun in your hand?
One of the last stalls I passed that day when on the lookout for toy guns was a stall where a seven-year-old boy was checking out a pistol with a scope.
Unable to cock the pistol himself, he handed it to his mother, who showed him where to put the tiny orange pellet.
When I asked her why she was buying a gun for him, she replied that she knew it wasn't exactly the best idea, but all the children at home had guns, and he felt left out.
Though she knew it would be broken in a few days, it was preferable to his whining if he didn't get it.
Before I could ask her name, the boy wandered off, waving the gun around and she rushed after him.
"Om die vrede te behou (to keep the peace)," she threw over her shoulder at me as she strode off after the now-smiling child.
Cathy Ward, chief research specialist at the Human Sciences Research Council, has completed a study of youth in the Western Cape's attitude towards gangs and violence.
This is part of developing a response for dealing with gang children.
Together with some of the other research she's done into the effects of violence on children, she's developed a theory about the effects of toy guns on their behaviour.
She says the argument is that children will use toy guns to practise what they can do for real.
If they see an adult being violent, one of the things they learn is that it is permissible.
"Children learn from what adults do. Children tend to copy adult behaviour," said Ward.
Taken a step further, giving them a realistic toy gun gives them intrinsic permission. It's play that is much more realistic.
"It's different from giving them, say, a yellow water gun.
"The more realistic the toy, the more the permission it is to use the real thing," she said.
Grade R teacher Bernadette Flanagan says children also copy what they see other children do.
So even if you don't allow toy guns into your home, they are still exposed on school playgrounds, in the parks or even the neighbour's backyard.
There are many arguments for and against allowing children to play with toy guns.
On the one hand there's the argument that says it all boils down to parental supervision, and education about the dangers and reality of guns, or the lack thereof.
"On the other hand realistic toy guns blur the line between what is a toy and the real thing, especially for smaller children who cannot tell the difference between fantasy and reality.
"This is especially problematic when a child can 'come back to life' after a toy gunfight, and is something small children don't automatically understand won't happen after a real gunfight.
"Small children need to be taught that violence cannot be undone. It's not an inherent concept children are born with," said Flanagan.
A proposal was made earlier this year to extend the list of "dangerous objects" South African citizens are allowed to carry.
In all the noisy arguments though, the toy gun issue is somewhat lost, even if the proposed amendment is supposed to come down even stricter on the sale of facsimile weapons.
Trevor Bloem, spokesperson for the Minister of Safety and Security, says there is no timeframe yet for when the law will be amended, since it is still at the discussion phase.
"If the police catch you with something in your possession, depending on the circumstances, you can be in serious trouble. This (the list) would spell it out for the police," said Bloem.
The South African Police Service has released a media statement from its Visible Policing Divisional Commissioner Arno Lamoer.
This issues a "stern warning" that " the use of an imitation firearm or toy firearm in a crime (is) just as culpable as using an actual firearm".
The statement goes on that, according to the Dangerous Weapons Act, possession of an object which resembles a firearm under such circumstances that someone is likely to mistake it for the real thing is just as bad as threatening with the real thing.
"The South African Police Service is equally concerned about innocent law-abiding citizens being robbed, raped and attacked by criminals brandishing imitation devices.
"The severity of the attacks clearly indicates that criminals are not remorseful at all, and will do anything within their means to carry out these dastardly acts of violence."
One afternoon of wandering around a very small town was enough. Grahamstown at festival time is pretty much a microcosm of the country, because so many people from all over descend on this one place for ten days.
Yes, there's plenty of art to go around, but the presence of toy guns was what made an impression on me.
There was plenty of visible policing during the entire festival, yet not once did I see anyone in blue ask questions or talk to people about the toy guns, making me wonder whether anything would really change if the act was ever amended?
