Johannesburg - “It is only by God’s grace that I am alive,” Kenny Kunene told The Star just hours after the car he was travelling in was shot at by a group in Joburg.
The businessman and socialite said he was lucky to still be alive following the incident near Corlett Drive in Sandton after 8pm last night.
He said that he had been with his friend, Sunday Independent Editor Steven Motale earlier, but they drove off in separate cars.
Motale said he was not with Kunene when he was "ambushed" as his bodyguards had advised them not to travel in the same car after a suspicious car was seen earlier in the evening.
He only arrived 15 minutes later when Metro cops were already on the scene.
Motale said he would wait for the police investigate as it could have been a hijacking attempt or people "looking for me".
"We are not taking any chances."
He said: It is so shocking that I have to receive death threats in a country whose constitution and democracy is admired globally."
There has been widespread speculation that Kunene had been targeted because he was in the car with Motale, who had been receiving death threats after he published an article at the weekend about Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa's alleged extramarital affairs.
Ramaphosa is highly respected, Motale said. "He needs to challenge these death threats I have been receiving."
Kunene explained that he was driving with a friend in Houghton and was just about to turn onto Corlett Drive when he realised that he was being followed by a white SUV.
“The SUV started to overtake me at a high speed and then drove in front of me and hit the brakes,” he said.
He said that the group then stopped their vehicle in the street and some of then proceeded to get out of the car.
Kunene said one of them cocked the gun he was carrying and began shooting at the vehicle he was in.
In a bid to escape from the potentially deadly situation, he said that he then began to reverse the car while the armed gang continued to shoot at them.
Kunene said they eventually fled the scene when he continued to reverse the car and he managed to escape with no injuries.
But he said the car he was driving at the time is damaged and has several bullet holes.
“Two of the tyres are flat, there are about five bullet holes on the car and the left side mirror next to the windscreen is broken.”
Meanwhile, police have confirmed they were investigating the matter.
"Police are still investigating the shooting and a case of attempted murder has been opened,” police spokesperson Brigadier Mathapelo Peters said.