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Craigh Botha spent the days after the shooting, in and out of consciousness in the intensive care unit of the Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital.
Durban – The 38-year-old father shot in the stomach at the Rocca Bar a week ago, allegedly by a bouncer, has died.
Craigh Botha spent the days after the shooting in and out of consciousness in the intensive care unit of the Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital.
He had two operations, but eventually suffered organ failure and died early on Sunday morning, his ex-wife Cindy said.
“He fought,” she said, “He promised he wasn’t going to give up and he really hung in there.”
A man in his thirties handed himself over to the police in connection with Botha’s shooting last week, said police spokesman Thulani Zwane.
The police initially intended to charge the man with attempted murder but this would now be changed to murder.
He is expected to appear in court on Monday.
Botha was shot in the stomach during an altercation at the club on August 3.
Witnesses said the man who shot him was a bouncer who left after the shooting.
Botha was taken to hospital where he underwent emergency surgery to remove his gall bladder and part of his colon. His liver was also damaged.
On Thursday, he underwent a second procedure.
“He wasn’t recovering as quickly as he should have been – he had developed an infection,” Botha’s sister, Lindy Beyers, told The Mercury at the time.
After the second procedure, doctors were confident it had been a success, but some time between Friday night and Saturday morning his condition deteriorated.
“He developed a very high fever,” Cindy said.
She was at his bedside during his last moments and recalls his eyes welling as she whispered in his ear.
She commended the hospital staff and called the doctors and nurses “amazing”. Botha was a vibrant person, said Cindy.
“When he walked into a room, he turned heads. People just took to him.”
She said the family was “holding up” but that it was difficult.
“How do you get through something like this?” she said. “My little one, Kira, is only seven and she has never had to deal with anything like this.”
Cindy called Botha’s death “senseless”.
“We just hope justice is served. We don’t want something like this to happen again, to someone else,” she said.
Botha’s family is making arrangements for his funeral this week.
The Mercury
