UPDATE: Michael healing well after brutal beating in Ballito

It has been a rough month for the Braine family after their son Michael ended up in hospital in December following a fight outside a bar in Ballito Village. However he is making good progress.

The brawl happened outside East Oasis after Braine allegedly mouthed-off at Ballito resident Llewellyn Labuschagne, who then hit him.

According to Michael’s father David, Labuschagne approached from the back and hit him from the side before kneeing him in the face and then proceeding to kick and jump on his head when Michael fell down.

The 16-year-old was left with at least three burst blood vessels causing bleeding on the brain, a fractured skull, his jaw broken in five places, three teeth knocked completely out and deafness in one ear.

However, Labuschagne told the Courier a different version of events.

Also read: Questions after teen in hospital from brutal beating in Ballito Village

“When I arrived, the young man was already there and clearly very intoxicated, he was shouting and behaving aggressively towards other patrons and several people asked him to just leave,” said Labuschagne.

“He came forward at me and out of pure reaction I head-butted him. Then he took a step back and I thought he was making room to swing, so I hit him once. That’s all – there was no kneeing, no kicking and definitely no jumping on heads.”

David said Michael has since been making a good recovery, but doctors said it would still be a long road to full recovery.

“He’s doing well and he is back in school,” said David.

“There is still a six month window where we are going to have to monitor him for seizures and the like.

“We saw a specialist neuro on Monday, who told us Michael could never play sport again. He also said it was not a concussion but a level one brain injury and if Michael had been hit any harder he could have ended up in a vegetative state.”

David said Michael had had dentures made for the teeth that he lost.

“Because he is only 16 the doctors decided to wait on dental reconstructive surgery as his jaw is still developing.”

Meanwhile, Labuschagne had told the Courier the entire incident has left him worrying about the future.

“After his father shared the post on Facebook and it went viral anyone can see it, including future employers and the like.”

The Courier was unable to reach Labuschagne for further comment by the time of going to print.

David said the response of the legal system has left him quite disappointed.

“There’s just no urgency at all, his court date has now been moved to January 29. We often see him (Labuschagne) just going about in public, living his life.”

After the fight in December, Umhlali SAPS spokesperson confirmed that a case of attempted murder had been opened against Labuschagne.

Still, the family are optomistic about the future, as David said: “Nobody can keep a Braine down.”

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