[imagesource: Facebook / Mandy Rudman]

On January 25, former Hawks boss Johan Booysen was chased by a man wielding a gun after pulling up at his Pretoria home.

The assailant pulled the trigger with the gun aimed at Booysen, who had reacted swiftly with some deft driving skills, but the retired policeman said the gun wouldn’t fire.

At the time, it was widely reported that it had been an attempted assassination, with Booysen telling News24 it was a textbook hit attempt.

However, after watching the footage of the incident, Booysen told The Daily Maverick that he couldn’t be so sure:

“It was a harrowing experience. Thank God the firearm failed to go off. My first impression is that it was an attempted hit. The guy actually pulled the trigger twice. After viewing the CCTV footage I do not discount a failed hijacking,” Booysen told Daily Maverick…

“Either way, I’m relieved that I survived. I will definitely be more vigilant. I have been warned about my personal safety, but admittedly became careless.”

Watch the CCTV footage below, captured shortly before 2:30PM, and make up your own mind:

When pressed for more information last week, Gauteng police spokesperson Captain Mavela Masondo said that investigations were still ongoing.

Booysen is currently involved in investigating cash-in-transit heists, and has extensively detailed corruption within the SAPS, the National Prosecuting Authority, and South Africa’s politician ranks.

In other words, he’s definitely made enemies in high places, which is why a hit can’t yet be ruled out.

[source:dailymaverick]