An eight-year-old girl from Ekupheleni in Eswatini has spent weeks with a pistol bullet lodged in her foot. The incident occurred last month when the girl was playing with her siblings outside a centre. She felt a sharp object pierce the underside of her foot and thought she had stepped on a piece of wire. The incident was reported to the authorities and her parents took her to hospital for medical attention.
The girl received medical attention, including antibiotics, but her condition did not improve. The wound did not heal as expected and her foot began to swell. She experienced difficulties placing her foot on the ground. Her parents took her back to hospital several times, but it was not until this month that medical practitioners recommended a scan to establish the cause of her persistent complications.
The scan revealed a pistol bullet lodged inside the child’s foot. The minor was informed of the discovery in the presence of her parents. Following the revelation, the girl recalled an incident that occurred on the day she sustained the injury. She remembered hearing a loud noise, which sounded like a gunshot, while playing with her siblings.
The girl also recalled seeing one of the residents shooting at cats, which have been troubling residents in the area. Police officers visited the resident identified by the child as the person she had seen shooting. The police seized a pistol from the resident, which has since been submitted for ballistic testing.
The resident admitted to having fired the pistol but maintained that he was not shooting at the child. The circumstances under which the girl sustained the injury remain subject to police investigations. The outcome of the ballistic examination is expected to assist in establishing whether the seized firearm is linked to the bullet recovered from the minor’s foot.
This incident is not the first of its kind in Eswatini. A seven-year-old pupil, Siphelele Mhlanga from Phola Township in Nhlangano, was struck in the head by a stray bullet while travelling home from school inside a kombi. She was left in critical condition and admitted to intensive care, sparking profound shock and concern from her family, school administration and the local transport association.
The police launched an investigation into the incident. The recent incident has raised concerns about gun safety and control in the country. The police are working to establish the facts surrounding the incident and bring those responsible to justice.
Key points
- A pistol bullet was lodged in the foot of an 8-year-old girl in Eswatini for weeks before being discovered.
- The girl had sustained an injury while playing with her siblings outside a centre at Ekupheleni.
- The police are investigating the incident and have seized a pistol from a resident who admitted to firing it.
