A well-known Buffalo City businessman and two co-accused appeared briefly in the magistrate’s court in KuGompo City on Monday on charges of attempted murder and assault after a 16-year-old boy was shot in Amalinda on Thursday.
The case was postponed to Friday for a formal bail application.
While the identities of the accused are known to the Dispatch, National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Luxolo Tyali said Monday’s proceedings were held in-camera and the “investigating team believes that releasing their names could jeopardise their work”.
In-camera proceedings are where the public and press are barred from observing the procedure or process.
Tyali said this was partly because the victim was still in hospital and unable to identify his alleged shooters.
“Because of the sensitivity of the case, the case was in-camera and not in open court,” Tyali said.
The accused was arrested on Friday and detained at the Cambridge police station after allegedly being linked to the shooting.
It is alleged the victim and four friends had been picking guavas from trees on the accused’s property in Amalinda when shots were fired at the group, hitting the teenager in the stomach.
He remains in the intensive care unit at Frere Hospital, where his condition has been described as critical.
Eastern Cape police spokesperson Brigadier Nobuntu Gantana said the boy had managed to walk some distance after being shot before collapsing near a shop in Woolwash Road, Amalinda.
“It is alleged that on Thursday at approximately 4pm, the complainant was on duty when he received a call from the trauma unit at the hospital, informing him of a gunshot victim who had been brought in from the Amalinda area,” Gantana said.
“The victim was with his friends in the bushes behind the liquor store in Amalinda, picking guavas, when suddenly the 16-year-old victim was shot by a person standing on a nearby wall.”
All three accused remain in custody and have been transferred to West Bank Prison pending his bail application on Friday.
Meanwhile, the victim’s mother was accompanied by relatives outside court, where she repeatedly broke down while speaking about her son’s condition.
“My son is currently lying in a hospital bed and he is being operated on,” she said.
“He is not out of danger; this is an ugly situation … He is in the ICU … He can’t speak.”
Daily Dispatch
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