Durban - A videographer who was shot at on the N3 in May is back behind the lens and hoping those responsible feel bad for shooting someone innocent.
Daryl Kotze is well-known for filming the music videos of South Africa’s biggest hip hop stars.
He was travelling to his Glenwood home on the N3 when a car drove up next to his Toyota Fortuner. The occupants riddled his SUV with bullets.
Kotze, who was struck several times, lost control of his vehicle and hit a
wall, before overturning and coming
to a halt in the middle of the road.
Speaking for the first time since the incident, Kotze said he still had no memory of the shooting; his last recollection was of leaving a music video shoot in Johannesburg.
“When I first gained proper consciousness in ICU, I asked my wife if I had crashed my car and she had to explain to me that I was shot at over 50 times. I have sought trauma counselling,” he said.
“The only thing I can maybe remember in the back of my mind is the burning of the bullets.”
Daryl Kotze's bullet-riddled vehicle on the N3 in Durban. Picture by Ethekwini secure
Kotze returned to filming two months ago. “There is shrapnel in my lungs and chest from the main bullet that hit me in the back and broke apart. The shrapnel is causing me to cough up blood in the morning. If it gets worse, I may need surgery to remove up to half my left lung.”
He still has nerve damage and discomfort in his chest area.
Kotze contacted the detective investigating the incident when he was discharged from hospital.
“I felt sorry for him because he is facing so many cases he cannot keep up,” said Kotze. “I wasn’t interested in the case either. I don’t want to be involved in trying to find people who are brazen, with no regard for the law. I never had anything to do with that dark side of South Africa.
“I want nothing to do with the case. I just hope they learnt their lesson and feel bad for shooting someone innocent,” Kotze said.
He said he had become despondent about crime in the country.
“I believe it’s not a matter of ‘if’ you are affected by crime; it’s a matter of ‘when’. And when it happens you just hope it’s something minor and you escape with your life. Since my incident, I have already had friends and family being affected by crime in varying degrees.
“I have realised that my kids will not be growing up in the South Africa I love and grew up in. Crime and safety and the economic growth of our country are not being addressed properly by our leaders. I believe, for my children, we need to sadly go somewhere where we will not have to worry about their safety every time they leave our house surrounded by alarms and high walls.”
Police spokesperson Captain Nqobile Gwala said an attempted murder
docket is under investigation by Sydenham police.