A Johannesburg man, who has been convicted of culpable homicide for killing a four-year-old boy in Westdene, has been described as "carelessly indifferent".

Uriel Abrahamse, an ANC military veteran, shot Gwadiso Richard Belang Junior while chasing after a robber in October last year.

The child had been playing outside a creche at the time.

The Newlands Magistrate's Court has rejected Abrahamse's claim the bullet ricochet twice before striking the young boy.

The state's only witness in the trial, Walter Mabuti, says he was hoping Abrahamse would be convicted of murder.

"When I was listening in court I thought the last word of the magistrate would be murder but it was culpable homicide," says Mabuti.

Abrahamse will be sentenced next month.