A 23-year-old Zimbabwean illegal immigrant is recovering in the Beit Bridge District Hospital after he was shot and seriously wounded by a cross border transport operator, who had assisted him in crossing the border illegally.

The victim, Elisha Tafa of Nyaunde village in Kadoma, was shot in the right thigh and buttocks, following a dispute over money. He sustained severe bodily injuries and is now receiving treatment at Beit Bridge District Hospital.

When Mirror visited the hospital on Tuesday, the victim’s clothes were soaked with blood from the wounds inflicted on him.

In a bedside interview, Tafa said the incident occurred on Monday at around 22:00 along the Beit Bridge-Bulawayo road. He was part of a group of six border jumpers who were being ferried from Johannesburg to their respective homes by the suspects. “We approached these people in Johannesburg on Monday morning and they charged us R1 000, so that they could facilitate our crossing the border since we had no passports. In fact, the fee also included being transported to our homes, but I was shocked when, on arrival in Beit Bridge, they demanded an extra R1500. That was when I started arguing with them and in the process they assaulted me,” Tafa said.

Along the highway, Tafa then jumped out the moving vehicle after the driver had reduced speed. That was when one of the suspects opened fire and shot him in the thigh and buttocks and he collapsed. They robbed him of R1500, a television set, a DVD player and groceries, all worth more than R3 000.

Soon after the incident, the suspects drove off at high speed, leaving Tafa for dead. “I was assisted by some passers-by who spotted me wriggling in pain along the highway. They took me to the police station, where I reported the matter, after which they rushed me to the hospital,” he said. The local police spokesperson for Beit Bridge district, Supt Mzamo Bhebhe, confirmed the incident, saying they were now investigating the matter.