Hitman in doctor’s coat, wig tried to poison 'gang boss' Booysen
Cape Town - A man dressed as a female doctor was arrested after he allegedly tried to kill suspected gang boss Jerome “Donkie” Booysen with snake poison in hospital.
The alleged assassin, who wore a black wig, was attacked by Booysen’s bodyguards after entering the third-floor ward where the alleged leader of the 26s and Sexy Boys gangs lay in recovery at a hospital on Thursday evening.
A source close to Booysen’s family says the man had a syringe in his hand when he was caught.
On Saturday, the insider revealed to the Daily Voice that a toxicologist’s report showed the contents of the syringe to be the deadly venom of a black mamba.
A scalpel, which was found in the suspect’s coat pocket, was believed to be the attacker’s back-up murder weapon.
Booysen has since been moved to another hospital, where he checked in using an alias.
Alleged hitman is in custody.
“It’s for his own protection, and that of other patients,” says the source.
Booysen was shot four times – three times in the chest and once in the right arm – at the Cape Town International Airport last Wednesday morning, the third attempt on his life in six months.
His family has also been allocated extra security detail, after they heard rumours that a R5 million price has been put on Booysen’s head, and that rival gangs want him “out” by Christmas.
The hospital “assassin”, who was dressed in a white doctor’s coat and pumps, was caught after Booysen’s guards became suspicious.
“Most of the people who work here in the ward are nervous, but this lady doc was too jumpy and she was pulled aside and questioned. She then made a jump for the bed he (Booysen) was in, but one of the guys saw her intention and grabbed her,” reveals the source, who was at the hospital.
“That’s when her wig came off, maar toe moer hulle hom(and then they beat him up).”
Wig came off as 'doctor' was tackled
The alleged hitman was beaten bloody inside Booysen’s ward, according to the source.
The police were called in and the man was arrested.
It is believed two other would-be assassins, also disguised as doctors, were waiting outside the ward, but fled the hospital.
“We were told the syringe he was holding had black mamba venom. This was a pretty close call and nobody will be allowed to get that close again,” the insider adds.
It’s believed last week’s attack at the airport was a botched assassination attempt on the alleged gang boss, in retaliation for the shooting at Cubana in Stellenbosch last Saturday morning.
Mom of two, Nicole Muller, 30, was hit in the head when the two gunmen opened fire on another patron, Donovan Jacobs, 40.
Jacobs, who also died, is said to have been linked to the 28s gang and The Firm, allegedly run by Ralph Stanfield.
He is said to have been a top-ranking general in the rival gang.
Cops outside the hospital on Thursday
Stanfield was shot in a drive-by attack in Johannesburg in July.
An anonymous police source said: “It’s going to be ugly and people are going to die. This is just the beginning. Someone is trying to get rid of these old gang families.”
Sergeant Noloyiso Rwexana confirmed the arrest of a 39-year-old man at the hospital on Thursday.
He was expected to appear in court on a charge of attempted murder.
Rwexana says police also recovered a vehicle at the hospital, which had been stolen in Simon’s Town.
No arrests have been made in connection with the airport shooting.