Family man Duane Balkrishna with, from left, younger daughter Ashleigh, his wife Kavitha and older daughter Teresa - on Thursday Duane was shot while saving a neighbour from hijackers in Isipingo.
Durban - “I just wish all the good words from people could bring him back to us.”
That was the heartbreaking wish from Kavitha Balkrishna after her husband Duane, 49, died while trying to save a neighbour from hijackers early on Thursday morning in Isipingo Rail.
Yesterday (Friday) the family home was filled with family and friends arriving to pay their respects to Duane Balkrishna ‒ a fallen hero who always went out of his way to help his community.
His wife Kavitha said she was still trying to process the horrifying moments which shattered her world and that of the couple’s daughters, Ashleigh, 16, and Teresa, 19. The couple had been married for 22 years.
“It was about 6am and I was in the kitchen making lunch and Duane was on the couch watching morning TV.
“I heard a neighbour screaming. I took our younger girl and locked us in our room and pressed the panic button. I heard a shot, I didn’t know he had been shot,” said Kavitha.
Teresa had shut herself in her room and said she stood by the door pushing the door handle upwards because there was no key for the door.
When they came out of their rooms, Ashleigh ran to the front door. She saw her father had fallen into the doorway and there was“lots of blood on the floor”. They realised he had been shot in the head.
The hijackers had taken the neighbour’s vehicle, using her remote and keys to escape from the property located in a complex.
Kavitha said her husband was airlifted to hospital. They tried to speed through Durban’s early morning rush hour traffic to St Augustine’s Hospital, only to discover that Duane had been taken to a hospital in uMhlanga. She said he had lost a lot of blood from the time he was shot to arriving at the hospital.
Kavitha said: “I thought he had been stabilised. When we finally got to the hospital in uMhlanga, we were told he was in a critical condition.”
He died soon afterwards.
“We are all devastated. He was always the one doing the good deeds. Whether it was during the looting or when there have been water problems.
“He worked long, long hours, but would always be there for his girls on the weekend. He would do anything for his children and for us as a family. I loved him so much,” said Kavitha.
His daughters sat in his car on Friday morning as it still had their dad’s scent and played his favourite tracks from the 80s, with Teresa saying “Lionel Ritchie and Kenny G were two of my dad’s favourites.”
The girls described their father as always being “the strong one who looked after everybody”.
His niece Nicolene Naidoo said: “He was everyone’s hero. He was always the one who everyone went to for advice. He kept everyone together and if you needed anything, he was there for you.”
According to neighbours, Duane was an active member in the community ‒ from being part of a neighbourhood watch to assisting in feeding schemes.
A resident on the same street, Roshan Ramkissoon, said Duane was often out on the road patrolling with the neighbourhood watch team.
"Just last Saturday we were all sitting together at the top of the road. Duane helped so many people. It’s absolutely shocking. It was about 6am on Thursday and I heard a gunshot, the dogs went berserk. Crime is chaotic,” said Ramkissoon.
Emer-G-Med spokesperson Kyle Van Reenen confirmed that paramedics had arrived at the scene, and attended to the bleeding man before he was airlifted to hospital. He said the man had sustained a gunshot wound to the head, was in a critical condition and “fighting for his life”.
Yesterday Van Reenen said: ”SA is like a war zone. It’s nothing for us (paramedics) to attend three or four seriously violent incidents a day.
“Since the uprising last July, many people have joined various social media groups to keep aware of what is happening. Prior to that they would often only belong to one WhatsApp group on their street, now everyone belongs to numerous groups,” said Van Reenen.
KZN SAPS spokesperson Lt Col Nqobile Gwala confirmed the shooting had taken place and that the suspects had fled the scene in the hijacked vehicle.
Gwala said the victim of the hijacking, who did not appear to be at the complex when the IOS were there yesterday morning, had alleged that on Thursday “at 6.10am, she was parking her vehicle at her place of residence in Isipingo Rail when she was accosted by two armed men who demanded her car keys. She screamed for help and her 49-year-old neighbour ran outside to investigate what was happening,” said Gwala.
“Charges of murder, theft and carjacking were opened at Isipingo police station for investigation,” she added.
The Independent on Saturday
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