Alleged 26s gang boss Jerome “Donkie” Booysen survived a third attempt on his life after he was shot at Cape Town International Airport early on Wednesday morning.
It’s believed this was a failed assassination attempt in retaliation to the shooting at Cubana in Stellenbosch in the early hours of Saturday morning.
At about 5am on Wednesday, Booysen was entering the departures area, when witnesses say more than 20 shots were fired by two men through the glass doors of the drop and go entrance.
The 52-year-old was shot four times, while a second person, described as an “old white man”, was wounded in the shooting.
A traumatised witness says she lay flat on her tummy on the floor until long after the shooting stopped.
The woman, who asked to remain anonymous, tells the Daily Voice: “The man was going out and I saw him turn to come back in as he was being shot.
“He was hit a few times and the man with him pulled him one side and sort of stood over him, almost protecting him with his body.
“He then pulled out a gun and started shooting at the two men outside.”
Photo: Tracey Adams/ANA
Booysen and the injured man were rushed to an undisclosed hospital, where he is under heavy guard.
Sources close to the Booysen family revealed on Wednesday afternoon that Booysen was recovering well following surgery to remove the bullets.
Outside the hospital, more than 10 men were stationed, seven in the passage leading to Booysen’s room, two outside his door and two inside his private ward.
He was said to be in good spirits, and was receiving visitors.
The Daily Voice has also learnt that extra bodyguards have been assigned to his family following this shooting.
Sources in the Cape Flats gang underworld revealed to the Daily Voice that the hit on Booysen was a response to the killing of a high-ranking gang rival in Stellenbosch.
Mom of two, Nicole Muller, 30, died when two gunmen opened fire and killed another club patron, Donovan Jacobs, 40, at the popular nightclub.
Pictures: facebook
Jacobs is said to be linked to the 28s gang and The Firm, allegedly headed up by Ralph Stanfield.
This is the third attempt on Booysen’s life in the past six months.
In September, Booysen was driving his Porsche Cayenne at Sacks Circle in Bellville when he was ambushed by a car full of shooters.
More than 50 shots were fired, and 21 hit his vehicle, but Booysen was not injured.
In May, he was shot in the neck in a drive-by shooting in Ravensmead.
The brazen shooting at the airport, a national keypoint and a major tourism gateway to the Mother City, has been widely condemned.
Community Safety minister Dan Plato urged police to do everything in their power to nab the shooters.
“The total disregard for the law and the lives of the public at a national key point requires an in-depth investigation by the police, assisted by intelligence agencies. Those responsible for the shooting must face the full might of the law,” he said.
Plato said he went to the airport to meet with key security personnel.
“I call on anyone with information regarding the incident to report it to their closest police station. We have to speak out against all crime in our united efforts against crime,” the MEC added.
Police’s Vish Naidoo said the drop and go section of the airport was closed off and travellers were accommodated elsewhere.
He said no arrests have been made.
The airport’s general manager, Deon Cloete, confirmed there were no flight delays, but said police were investigating and the area involved had been cordoned off for investigative purposes.
Enver Duminy, CEO for Cape Town Tourism added: “We reassure our visitors that this is an isolated incident. Cape Town International Airport was recently given the accolade of Best Airport on the Continent, and we are confident that security measures are of the highest international standards.”