SARS advocate shot in attempted hit in uMhlanga hotel parking lot

A case of attempted murder has been opened following an alleged hit on SARS Advocate Coreth Naudé in the parking lot of a hotel in uMhlanga yesterday afternoon.

KZN SAPS spokesperson Robert Netshiunda confirmed that Naudé was shot and injured in the incident and drove herself to hospital to escape her attackers.

“Reports indicate that the woman had stopped at the [hotel’s] boom gate when two suspects approached her vehicle and opened fire. The victim reportedly managed to drive to safety, and she was rushed to hospital with gunshot wounds. The suspects fled the scene in a silver or grey Toyota Corolla [of which the] registration plate has been found to have been cloned,” Netshiunda said.

Durban North police are investigating a case of attempted murder.

Meanwhile, the commissioner for SARS, Edward Kieswetter, has condemned the attempted assassination.

“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. It undermines the authority of the state. Acts such as these and those who perpetrate them must be resisted and defeated by all of us working together for the betterment of our country and ensuring that none is above the law.

“SARS calls on its law enforcement agencies to act with speed in pursuing and arresting those who attempted to take the life of Advocate Naudé. SARS wishes Advocate Naudé a speedy recovery and wishes her family well. We will not be intimidated by such acts of crime and cowardice.”

The attempted hit comes just days after four suspected hitmen were killed in a shoot-out with SAPS in Sydenham on Moses Katane Road (Sparks).

In that incident, Berea Mail reported that the hitmen were en route to kill a man and two of his bodyguards.

The suspects were also wanted for murders of people mostly involved in the construction industry.