By Sherlissa Peters
The trial of murder accused Azeem Yunus resumed in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Monday, as he took the stand in his defence before a courtroom filled with relatives.
"It was a case of shoot or be shot. I am alive today because I did not give her (Sathar) the opportunity to kill me," he testified.
Yunus is charged with the murder of Vinod Ramsarup, 31, and the attempted murder of Sarah Sathar and her eight-year-old daughter in a drive-by shooting on the N3 in May 2007.
The car the trio were travelling in came under fire while Ramsarup was driving Sathar and her child to the New Prison in Pietermaritzburg to visit her son Shuaib, who is on trial for the murder of Yunus's sister, Safia Asmal, 20.
Sathar was seriously injured in the attack, after being wounded 11 times.
Her daughter was grazed by three bullets.
Both survived, but Ramsarup was hit in the head and died at the scene.
Sathar's son Shuaib was arrested in September 2005 after Asmal was found murdered in her home.
Asmal had been stabbed several times, had her throat slit and her head bludgeoned with a dumbbell.
Shuaib has pleaded not guilty to the murder, and judgment in that case is expected later this month.
The families have clashed at previous court appearances and, according to one family member, tensions had escalated since the last court sitting.
Yunus, who has pleaded not guilty to the charges, claiming self-defence, said after Shuaib's arrest for his sister's murder, the relationship between the two families soured.
He confirmed that in January 2006, Sathar secured a domestic violence interdict against Yunus and his mother, claiming the two had threatened her.
Yunus said Sathar's complaint stated that "she will not hesitate to retaliate as she carries a firearm with her wherever she goes".
"I believe my family to be in grave danger," he said, adding that the Sathars were extremely violent people and he cited two occasions when he had witnessed Sarah Sathar chasing after her husband with an axe.
On the morning of the incident, Yunus said he was on his way to Pietermaritzburg from Estcourt to visit his psychologist, when a bakkie pulled alongside him on the N3.
He said he saw Sathar sitting in the passenger seat of the bakkie they were travelling in, and saw her point a silver handgun at him.
"I honestly believed Sathar was going to shoot me, so I grabbed my firearm and I fired at the bakkie," Yunus said.
Yunus admitted that his firearm had a magazine of 17 bullets, which he emptied.
After the shooting, Yunus said he did not wait around at the scene, but continued driving to Mooi River, where he reported the incident and surrendered his gun to police.
The case was adjourned to Wednesday for argument.
Yunus is currently out on bail.