Durban man's brush with death: AK-47 fragment pulled from head

A scar stretching across Musher Khan’s forehead, where a bullet fragment tore through skin and was stopped by his skull, will serve as a reminder of his brush with death.

Khan, 36, was wounded in a dramatic gun battle with heavily armed house robbers who had stormed his neighbour's Overport home last week.

“I came close to death and I know I am lucky to be alive. Doctors removed a fragment of an AK-47 round from my skull and the next day I was back on my feet and living life as normal,” he said.

Khan had faced a barrage of automatic gunfire when he confronted the gang, the third in a spate of armed robberies on Durban’s Ridge last week.

“My business runs from my house in a complex in Overport and we have an office in my garage. My wife and manager were sitting in the garage and they noticed my neighbour’s helper running to them,” he said.

“My wife screamed to me that some guys had gotten into the yard and my first thought was that someone had jumped into the yard to steal clothes from the line.”

Unbeknown to Khan, a seven-strong gang had been in the process of forcing entry to a unit in the complex, with riflemen standing sentry.

“I went outside and I saw two guys with AK-47s and they had masks on. When they saw me they opened fire.” 

“I took cover behind my vehicle and I returned fire. I had to shoot back, I couldn’t just stand back and do nothing. I was hiding behind my car using it as cover, and I had no idea I had been shot,” Khan said.

When the gunfire abated and the criminals made their escape, Khan called for aid.

“I then released that I’d been shot. I tried to use my cellphone and it was covered in blood. I radioed in and called for assistance. In minutes, more than 100 people responded,” he said.

The businessman is part of a community policing initiative called eThekwini Secure.

“If I had known there were seven guys with machine guns I would have stayed in the house - but I heard my wife screaming and I went running. I just wanted to protect those in my circle,” he said.

Police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Thulani Zwane said no arrests had been made.