07-05-2025
Investigation complete, no more arrests for attempted murder of advocate Coreth Naudé
The investigation into advocate Coreth Naudé's attempted murder is complete.
Two men have been accused of the crime and no more arrests were made.
The case has been postponed for the prosecution's decision.
Police have completed their investigation into the attempted murder of senior advocate Coreth Naudé, who represented SARS in a tax inquiry involving controversial businesswoman Shauwn Mkhize, and no further arrests have been made.
This after earlier indications that there was a possibility of more arrests.
The attempted murder accused, Siyanda Emmanual Mbulwana and Mcebisi Corlen Runeyi, were back in the dock of the Durban Magistrate's Court on Wednesday after their arrest on 19 December in the Western Cape.
Naudé was shot in the neck and face at the entrance of Premier Hotel Umhlanga, north of Durban, on 18 July 2024.
After she was shot, she managed to drive onto the hotel premises. There she received emergency medical attention before she was rushed to the hospital.
During the accused's bail application, which was unsuccessful, it was revealed that CCTV footage of the crime scene captured both of them clearly.
Mbulwana was also pointed out during an identity parade, the court heard.
But the accused denied committing the attempted murder and claimed they were on holiday in Durban at the time.
They claimed they were mistaken for the perpetrators.
At the time, the State revealed that detectives were analysing cellphone records that could lead to the arrest of two more people.
But when they appeared in court on Wednesday, no one else was in the dock with them.
'Investigations are now complete in the matter. May it be adjourned for a decision from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP),' prosecutor Carlson Govender told the court on Wednesday.
Magistrate Ashwin Singh postponed the case to 13 June.
Mbulwana and Runeyi, both from Cape Town, are charged with conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder, and possession of a semi-automatic firearm.
It is alleged that they flew from Cape Town to Durban the day before the shooting.
The State is armed with cellphone evidence that allegedly places them at the scene of the crime at the time that it happened, and places them where the getaway vehicle was when it was captured on CCTV footage at a fast-food establishment in the Durban CBD.
In the bail application, the prosecution put on record that both accused had previous brushes with the law.
The prosecution said Mbulwana was convicted of a 2016 Khayelitsha assault and had a pending 2023 case for possession of an unlicensed firearm in Kleinveli.
It also emerged at the time that Runeyi had warrants of arrest for motor vehicle theft.
Runeyi's criminal record also reflected four withdrawn cases for possession of housebreaking equipment, public violence, and robbery.
