DURBAN - A locaL stage performer involved with the massive international Lion King production had to put his life on hold for more than two years after he was shot at a New Year’s Eve party at the Moses Mabhida Stadium.
Muzi Mkhize, 31, has been a stage performer on Lebo M’s Lion King since he was 17. He has been living in Hong Kong for the past 13 years and has performed as Simba’s villain uncle, Scar, before thousands of people across the world.
But in December 2015, while attending the Fact Durban Rocks New Year’s Eve after-party at the Moses Mabhida Stadium with his fiancée, Londiwe Ngubeni, Mkhize was shot in the shoulder and beaten by a patron.
He had spent R3600 on two VVIP tickets for the event organised by local entertainer and businessman DJ Tira.
On the night, a patron, who was in the company of six women, allegedly got into the VVIP section with a firearm. Mkhize had an altercation with him after he allegedly gave six women alcohol without his permission.
The man allegedly assaulted Mkhize with a glass, before two gunshots were fired, one striking him in the shoulder.
“I went to the loo but, before I could reach our table, my girlfriend said the man and his friends had caused trouble,” said Mkhize.
“I confronted the guy in a polite way to ask what was happening.
“The next thing he stabbed me with a glass on the neck before firing two shots, with one hitting me on the shoulder,” he said.
On Friday, Mkhize appeared at the Durban Magistrate’s Court, where a case of defeating the ends of justice has been opened against security manager Thami Mlebuka, who allegedly discarded important evidence from the crime scene such as bullet shells.
Mlebuka is also accused of trying to conceal the incident by cleaning up the scene and failing to report it to the police.
The altercation allegedly happened in front of other patrons in the VVIP section.
The case, which was adjourned till January for further evidence, has been on and off since last year.
Mkhize, being unable to return to Hong Kong to perform for the past two years, has lost out on at least R2million in income.
Speaking to the Sunday Tribune from Hong Kong, Ngubeni said they were both disappointed that the case had dragged on for so long, depriving him of an income.
“I had to fly back alone because he cannot leave the case, it’s really frustrating,” Ngubeni said.
“He is supposed to be here with me but instead they are wasting his time.
“He is supposed to be working, we are both professional performers,” she said.
Mkhize said the ordeal had ruined his financial prospects. “I have lost almost R2.6m,” he said.