MaMkhize makes headlines following SARS official’s foiled assassination attempt
MaMkhize’s name has topped the trends list after SARS advocate Coreth Naudé – allegedly attending to her unpaid taxes case – survived a hit.
SARS (South African Revenue Service) senior advocate Coreth Naudé has narrowly escaped an assassination attempt after she was shot three times in Durban on Thursday, 18 July. And at the centre of the rampant, unfounded media speculation surrounding the incident is businesswoman Shauwn Mkhize, also known as “MaMkhize.”
According to reports, Naudé was acting on behalf of SARS in the tax inquiry of the Royal AM CEO.
The shooting comes a month after MaMkhize was accused of owing over R37 million in unpaid taxes.
SARS CONDEMNS SHOOTING OF ADVOCATE CORETH NAUDE
In a statement, SARS revealed that Coreth Naudé was shot three times in her car after she arrived at her hotel in Umhlanga, Durban.
Commissioner Edward Kieswetter said the shooting was a deliberate assassination attempt on their official, who had been investigating high-profile cases.
According to EWN, this included MaMkhize’s unpaid taxes saga.
He said: “This shocking act is intended to intimidate officers of 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 it must be resisted and defeated by all of us working together for the betterment of our country.”
He added: “We will not be intimidated by such acts of crime and cowardice.”
Lawyers for Human Rights South Africa also condemned the attack.
It said: “No individual or group is above the law. It is imperative that those responsible for this crime are apprehended and held accountable.”
WHY IS MAMKHIZE TRENDING?
Despite no factual evidence, many social media users have linked MaMkhize’s name to the SARS shooting incident.
According to The Citizen, MaMkhize was slapped with a R37 million tax bill relating to her business empire.
As a result, SARS filed a court application to seize 13 high-end vehicles owned by Shandi Trust and Royal AM football club, of which the reality TV star holds a majority stake.
The publication added that MaMkhize was also ordered to pay R12 million in her personal capacity to SARS.
Speaking in a one-on-one interview with Carte Blanchein April, the flashy star was asked why she had evaded tax amid a luxurious lifestyle.
Becoming evidently defensive, MaMkhize responded: “Tax matters are personal. I don’t have to divulge what were my problems”.
In 2012, IOL reported that MaMkhize faced 119 counts of tax fraud, amounting to up to R5 million, for submitting fake invoices. She later blamed the oversight on her bookkeeper, Kishal Reddy, who pleaded guilty while she pleaded not guilty.
According to Mail & Guardian, she was also charged with corruption for allegedly trying to persuade a state witness in one of her tax fraud cases to tamper with evidence.
All charges were later withdrawn, and Shauwn walked out of the court as a free woman.