Kholwani Prayman Ntanjana the alleged mastermind in the attempted murder case of Advocate Coreth Naudé SC who was attacked while conducting a tax inquiry into Andile Mpisane and others.
Image: Supplied
Kholwani Prayman Ntanjana, the alleged orchestrator of the brutal shooting of Advocate Coreth Naudé SC, is appealing the Durban Magistrate Court's decision to deny him bail. Naudé was conducting a tax inquiry into Andile Mpisane, son of controversial businesswoman Shauwn ‘MaMkhize’ Mkhize, at the time of the attack.
Ntanjana, arrested in late 2025, was refused bail in November 2025 by Durban Magistrate Quim de Freitas. The shooting occurred on the afternoon of July 17, 2024, at the entrance of the Premier Hotel in Umhlanga.
Naudé, travelling in tandem with attorney Rianda Chinnera, was ambushed by gunmen. While Chinnera managed to escape, Naudé was shot in the neck, face, and shoulder, necessitating reconstructive jaw surgery.
Magistrate Quim de Freitas raised several concerns during bail proceedings. He found it troubling that Ntanjana’s eight previous charges, including murder and carjacking, were withdrawn without explanation.
The magistrate stated: “It’s not normal for a good upstanding citizen to be associated with murder, firearms, carjacking, etc. It’s clear he has a propensity to be associated with violent crime, which is not a normal thing.”
Advocate Simphiwe Mlotshwa, representing Ntanjana, argued that the interests of justice demand his client's release on bail.
Mlotshwa contended that the magistrate erred by considering evidence related to the withdrawn charges and that the decision should be overturned and replaced with one granting bail, with prescribed conditions.
“It is humbly submitted that the learned magistrate ignored relevant evidence like the non-existent case against the appellant (Ntanjana), his strong alibi, and bank statements that corroborate his version. He ignored his strong personal circumstances,” Mlotshwa said.
Senior Counsel advocate Coreth Naudé survived who was attacked while conducting a tax inquiry in Durban. Three men have been charged for her attempted murder.
Image: Pretoria Bar
The defence also claimed that Ntanjana would be acquitted at trial due to a lack of evidence implicating him. Mlotshwa said De Freitas seemed to have accepted the State's evidence as amounting to a guilty verdict against Ntanjana.
Senior State prosecutor Advocate Dernado MacDonald argued that Ntanjana failed to meet the evidential burden to prove that his release is in the interests of justice. He said the reasons that Ntanjana gave to the court do little to convince otherwise. Furthermore, the State argues that Ntanjana has no fixed employment and has ties in various provinces, and it would be difficult to trace him.
“In the case before us, the likelihood of Ntanjana absconding is very real. The threat to the witnesses is very real, which the court must consider,” MacDonald argued.
Moreover, MacDonald argued that Ntanjana has the contents of the docket, as the matter is now before the Durban High Court, and would be aware of the identity of the witnesses. He noted that Ntanjana was evasive when he was supplying his addresses and that he had no fixed assets.
“During the arrest of the appellant, he was driving a BMW 530D of which the investigating officer is still uncertain how it came to be in his possession. He has not given any explanation regarding this,” read the court papers.
He emphasised that when advocate Naudé SC was attacked, she was carrying duties on behalf of her country, and her safety would be compromised if Ntanjana was released, as she would be easy to trace.
Citing Section 60(4) of the Criminal Procedure Act, he argued that bail is not permitted where there is a likelihood that the accused will endanger public safety, interfere with witnesses, or undermine the criminal justice system.
A date for the hearing of the appeal is yet to be communicated to all parties.
nomonde.zondi@inl.co.za