A 20-year-old man from Madombidzha is fighting for his life in the provincial hospital in Polokwane after he was allegedly shot at close range by a man presumed to be his friend, during a drinking spree at Pee Jay’s last Saturday at about 17:00.

According to the police, the Mpho Mofokeng (25) from Mamelodi in Tshwane was drinking together with the complainant at Pee Jay’s when the incident happened.

According to the police, when the two went to answer a call of nature, Mofokeng produced a firearm to show the complainant that he was armed, but instead, he pulled the trigger and shot the victim in the ribs on the lower right-hand side.

After shooting the complainant, Mofokeng disappeared, but only for few hours. He was nabbed by the police in one of the taverns at Madombidzha. After the firearm was confiscated by the police, it was discovered that the gun belongs to a guard of a local security company.

When Mofokeng appeared before the Makhado Magistrate’s Court on Monday, he was not asked to plead. He will be in police custody until his next appearance in the same court on March 19, later this month. Mofokeng is facing charges of attempted murder and possession of an unlicensed firearm. The victim has been moved from the Louis Trichardt Memorial hospital to Mankweng hospital.