The career of a young Khayelitsha rugby player was put on hold after he was shot, allegedly by security guards.
Teboho Parela, 18, who trains every day in a dusty back yard, was with friends at Nonkqubela train station on Tuesday July 19, returning from rugby practice, when he was shot and had to undergo surgery.
Teboho said he had been shot by two gunmen who approached him from the front and opened fire without saying a word.
The heavily armed men, he said, allegedly shot him and walked away, leaving him lying in a pool of blood.
Teboho, who is now recuperating at home in Site B, said he was still looking for answers. He spent a week at Tygerberg hospital before returning home on Friday July 29.
His family and friends have sinced called on the government to act “harshly” to ensure the perpetrators were brought to book.
His shocked father Myekeni Ngxazisa described his son as a good boy who loved sport and his books. Mr Ngxazisa said his family will not rest until they get answers.
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“To pull a gun on innocent young people is unacceptable,” he said.
“Teboho is a nice boy who is always full of jokes. He is very passionate about what he does. He was recently on television training other young people. He loved rugby. This might be the end (of his rugby career). But we hope for the best,” said his father.
Mr Ngxazisa said they reported the matter to Khayelitsha SAPS, which was confirmed by the police station’s spokesman Lieutenant Marcellus Rajap, who said a case of attempted murder had been opened and is being investigated.
He added that one man had been arrested in connection with the shooting.
Teboho, who attends Joe Slovo High, said he was shocked to see the shooter cocking his gun. “(When) we saw him pulling his gun we thought his was playing or trying to put his gun away. But when he started shooting, we all ran. I did not know that was I was shot until I felt weak. When I sat down, touching the painful part in my body, I saw blood streaming out. It was then I realised I was shot,” he said.
When he told his friends he had been shot, they rushed him to Khayelitsha Day Hospital.
“They were able to save (me) by carrying me to the hospital. I am grateful to them. Had it not been for them, maybe I would have bled to death,” he said.
“Teboho is a child who is at school. He does not deserve that,” said Sivuyile Skeyi, the teen’s cousin, who was with him when he was shot.
“In fact, no young people deserve to be brutally shot. If they had suspicion on him and his friends, they should have arrested them. They acted cowardly and irresponsibly,” he said.