Fireworks boy waits for justice
It’s been four years since a concealed firecracker exploded in Shane’s face and his mother is still waiting for their day in court
HE SITS quietly on the couch in the family’s modest home, fidgeting with the Protea emblem on his T-shirt. Shane Witbooi from Helenvale in Gqeberha ( formerly Port Elizabeth) loves sport and is an avid soccer, cricket and rugby fan – but his dreams of playing professional sports were dashed when a firecracker exploded in his mouth four years ago.
The blast tore a hole on the left side of his face, leaving him partially blind and deaf.
The 15-year-old also has developmental issues and attends a special needs school. His face is pockmarked from the explosion that nearly cost him his life, but the scars run more than skin deep, his mom, Annelize, says.
Her son still has nightmares about that terrible day. “He wakes up in the middle of the night crying and screaming,” she tells YOU. “Sometimes during the day he just takes off and runs away and I have to go out to look for him.”
‘They picked on my son – now we’re sitting with the results of them bullying my child’
Annelize (35) says she won’t rest until she gets justice for her boy. Shane’s bright future was stolen by two men who forced him to light a cigarette that had a firecracker concealed in it, she says.
Shane was 12 at the time of the incident. Two brothers, aged 27 and 25, were charged with assault and appeared in the then Port Elizabeth magistrate’s court in January 2017 but the case was provisionally withdrawn from the court roll by the National Prosecuting Authority.
Prior to the incident, Annelize says, they didn’t know the brothers – who are
the sons of a high-ranking police officer in the area.
“For reasons known only to them, they picked on my son. Now we’re sitting with the results of them bullying my child.”
Colonel Priscilla Naidu from the SAPS confirms the case against the brothers was provisionally withdrawn for further investigation. “The case was sent to the senior public prosecutor in December 2020 for review and further instructions on whether to prosecute,” Naidu says.
Annelize hopes the family will finally get their day in court. “All I want is for the case to be finished, so we can get some rest,” she says.
ANNELIZE and her five kids packed their bags and headed to the beach in Summerstrand that bright Saturday morning – but what started as a day of sun and surf turned into tragedy.
“It was my cousin’s birthday and we were all excited and looking forward to a wonderful family day,” Annelize recalls.
The family left their home in a hired minibus taxi and met their extended family on the beach where they tucked into a picnic and enjoyed a day of swimming. When it was time to go home Annelize noticed Shane, or Oubaas as the family calls him, was missing.
“We searched all over the beach and couldn’t find him,” she says.
When it got dark, she told the family to go home while she stayed behind and continued looking for her son. Around midnight, she realised there was little more she could do and Shane was reported missing at the Humewood police station.
The following day Annelize and her family returned to the beachfront to continue the search. The worried mom was overjoyed when a group of people said they’d seen a young boy fitting Shane’s description – but her relief soon turned into frantic worry.
“They asked if I was looking for the boy who had cuts on his face. They told me where they thought he was and I followed their directions but still couldn’t find him.”
After another sleepless night, her sister told her Shane had been found at the then Port Elizabeth Provincial Hospital. He was badly injured and had burns all over his face.
While Shane was fighting for his life in hospital, Annelize says, the brothers who allegedly lit the firecracker in the boy’s mouth were told by their father to hand themselves over to the police.
SHANE was later transferred to Dora Nginza Hospital for treatment. After a few weeks he was discharged but he was no longer the same boy Annelize knew.
Her son, who she describes as having been a hardworking learner before the incident, had trouble focusing at school. His teachers told her he’d started skipping class and isolating himself from other learners.
When Annelize and the concerned teachers probed further, they found Shane had been battling to see and hear. Annelize took him back to hospital where doctors confirmed he was partially blind and deaf.
He’d also been traumatised by the incident and received counselling and medication to help calm him down. Shane still relies on the medication.
At first, he didn’t want to talk about what happened that day but over time Annelize says he slowly opened up to her.
Shane had come across the men while walking along the beachfront. Though he didn’t smoke, they allegedly forced him to take the cigarette and took him to a secluded area where he was told to light it.
When the firecracker cigarette exploded, the men sped off in a bakkie, which was later traced to a police colonel’s house in Summerstrand.
Based on the cuts on Shane’s arms, the family suspects he tried to fight the men off during the incident.
Wayne Lester Jagger, general secretary of the Mount Road cluster community police board, has been following Shane’s case with great concern. He says he’s disturbed that the investigation had only been concluded late last year. “A young boy was seriously injured by a cracker-cigarette that was given to him by two men. I’m shocked to learn of the lack of justice for this family.”
Wayne says the community police forum will be following the court case closely and Annelize welcomes the support. “Shane lost his father when he was only one month old so I have to fight for him on my own,” she says.
Until she gets her day in court, Annelize, who’s unemployed, cares for Shane around the clock.
“I ask God to give me strength to carry this heavy burden on my shoulders,” she says. “All I want is justice for my son.” S
‘They asked if I was looking for the boy who had cuts on his face’