According to the police, Naude was ambushed by two gunmen. Photo: X
Thursday’s attempted assassination of advocate Coreth Naude undermines the justice system, the Johannesburg Society of Advocates has said.
“Access to justice is undermined when counsel is not able to take instructions without fear and an attack of this kind must be faced with universal condemnation,” said the society in a statement.
According to the police, Naude was ambushed by two gunmen when she entered the parking garage of a hotel in Umhlanga, Durban, shortly after 4pm on Thursday.
The gunmen fired four shots which pierced the window of Naude’s car before fleeing in a Toyota Corolla. The bullets hit her in the face and chest.
It is understood that Naude had attempted to flee the attack by driving into the hotel’s basement parking. She was treated in the garage before being taken by ambulance to Netcare Umhlanga Hospital in a critical condition.
She is being treated under a heavy security presence, said KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson, Robert Netshiunda.
Naude was working for Sars in a case involving R37 million in unpaid taxes by controversial businesswoman and socialite Shauwn Mkhize. The inquiry into the case was being held at the offices of Cox Yeats Attorneys in Umhlanga.
In May, Sars attempted to secure 13 luxury vehicles, including a Lamborghini and Rolls-Royce, owned by Mkhize’s company Royal AM Football and the Shandi Trust — of which she is the majority owner.
The case was before the court last week for Sars to obtain an arrest warrant for the trustees of Shandi Trust for their alleged failure to cooperate with the order.
In a statement on Thursday night, Sars condemned the attack on Naude and said the revenue service would continue its work on the case.
“This shocking act is intended to intimidate officers of the court to abandon the vital work they’re performing in furtherance of our country’s legal system,” Sars said.
“We will not be intimidated by such acts of crime and cowardice.”
This is not the first time Mkhize has been accused of not paying taxes. In 2020, Sars successfully obtained a liquidation order against her cleaning company, which owed more than R200 000 in unpaid taxes.
The attempted hit on Naude follows the double murder of court-appointed curator Cloete Murray and his son, Thomas. At the time, Murray was working with Naude on the tax inquiry into Mkhize’s empire. No arrests have been made.
The attempt on Naude’s life adds to the list which includes the murder of anti-gang unit police officer Charl Kinnear, who was investigating cases involving organised crime, and the murder of Gauteng Department of Health whistle-blower Babita Deokaran, who was killed after flagging a series of suspicious, and potentially fraudulent, transactions.
In addition, forensic investigator Zenzele Sithole was shot dead in Johannesburg last week. He was working on a case relating to allegations that members of the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department were selling weapons and ammunition, including automatic assault rifles, from the armoury to criminals across the country.