Medical report reveals Feroz Khan’s injuries, doctors dismiss claims attack was staged
· Citizen
A medical report obtained by The Citizen has revealed that Crime Intelligence boss Major General Feroz Khan sustained catastrophic internal injuries when he was shot in Houghton last week, requiring two emergency operations and extensive blood transfusions to save his life.
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The report, compiled by a trauma surgeon at Milpark Hospital and reviewed for this article by an independent doctor, details multiple abdominal injuries, massive internal bleeding, spinal damage and kidney complications. The injuries could contradict claims that the shooting was staged to prevent Khan from testifying before the Madlanga commission.
Khan, 56, was shot in the abdomen days before he was due to appear before the judicial commission of inquiry into allegations of corruption within the South African Police Service. Within hours of the attack, social media platforms were flooded with claims questioning whether he had been shot at all, while others speculated that the incident had been orchestrated to avoid giving evidence.
Intelligence source dismisses baseless rumour
Questions also surfaced over the absence of bodyguards at the time of the shooting. However, an intelligence colleague told The Citizen that the Crime Intelligence boss did not travel with close protection officers and dismissed the speculation as a baseless rumour.
According to the medical report, Khan arrived at Milpark Hospital’s trauma unit shortly after midnight on 29 June with a single gunshot wound to the abdomen. The bullet remained lodged near his spine after passing through his abdominal cavity. Surgeons discovered approximately 1.8 litres of blood inside his abdomen together with four perforations to the small intestine, active bleeding from blood vessels supplying the colon and the left lumbar artery, a fractured L3 vertebra and a bullet fragment lodged adjacent to the nerve roots around the L3 and L4 vertebrae.
The report also records significant damage to the psoas muscle, which connects the spine to the hip, while Khan later developed acute kidney injury and fluid overload following surgery.
‘He may be partially paralysed’
By the time he reached theatre, Khan’s blood pressure had dropped to 80 and his body temperature had fallen to 33.5 degrees Celsius as he entered haemorrhagic shock.
“He had almost a third of his circulating blood volume inside his abdomen,” the independent doctor said after reviewing the report. “That is a significant amount of blood loss.”
Surgeons carried out an emergency laparotomy shortly after 2am to control the bleeding and repair the bowel injuries before returning Khan to theatre for a second operation after his condition stabilised.
The report indicates surgeons were forced to ligate the left lumbar artery to stop the bleeding, suggesting the bullet had damaged blood vessels supplying structures near the spine.
The greatest long-term concern, according to the independent doctor, is the bullet fragment lying adjacent to the nerves supplying the lower limbs.
“If those nerve roots were damaged, there may be permanent neurological problems,” the doctor said. “Depending on the extent of the injury, weakness, loss of function or even paraplegia remains a possibility. It is simply too early to determine the eventual outcome.”
Permanent neurological problems not ruled out
The doctor said the report did not suggest the spinal cord had been completely severed, making partial neurological impairment more likely should permanent damage emerge.
Khan remains in intensive care, where he is receiving morphine for pain management together with broad-spectrum antibiotics. Although he has been extubated (meaning the tubes were removed to help him breathe), he continues to require respiratory support.
The doctor told The Citizen that immediate risks to the top cop include severe abdominal infection because the bullet perforated the bowel, ventilator-associated pneumonia and complications arising from spinal trauma.
Doctor hogwashes theories of self-inflicted injuries
The independent doctor also dismissed suggestions that anyone would deliberately sustain such injuries to avoid appearing before a commission of inquiry.
“It is extremely unlikely that somebody would voluntarily incur an injury of this nature for secondary gain,” he said. “If someone wanted to fake being injured, a superficial wound to a limb would make far more sense. A gunshot wound through the abdomen risks permanent disability, damage to the bowel, kidneys and spinal nerves and can very easily be fatal.”
Khan’s legal team has invited the Madlanga commission to appoint its own medical specialists to examine him in hospital after allegations circulated questioning the authenticity of his injuries. Commission chairperson Acting Deputy Chief Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga has previously criticised Khan’s legal team for making public statements linking the commission to the shooting.
Khan remains in a critical but stable condition in hospital.