The beachfront hero who grappled with an armed suspect, after an elderly British couple were mugged in Port Elizabeth, did not even realise he had been shot as he wrestled with the gunman.
Rest Pemhiwa‚ 35‚ was lauded for his bravery by a delegation of police top brass‚ including the new Mount Road Cluster commander‚ who visited him at St George’s Hospital on Thursday.
Pemhiwa was shot in the hip in the scuffle with the 19-year-old suspect who had just allegedly robbed the tourists – aged 86 and 74 – as they rested on a bench during a stroll in Marine Drive‚ Summerstrand‚ on Wednesday.
Speaking from his hospital bed yesterday‚ the camera-shy hero – who is from Zimbabwe but has lived in South Africa for 16 years – said he had been erecting branding at bus stops along Marine Drive shortly before the robbery.
“I did not even know that I had been shot until I saw all the blood and a hole in my shirt‚” Pemhiwa said.
Cluster commander Major-General Thembisile Patekile said Pemhiwa was a hero for chasing down and catching a criminal.
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