Insurance policies and ailing business thought to be at the heart of assassination attempt, writes Jeff Wicks.
|||Durban - The Hawks are to investigate the circumstances surrounding the wounding of Durban student Rosanne Williamson, 19, by a gunman in Mtunzini last week.
The attack has been widely labelled a hit, with evidence indicating her mother, Rosemary Smith, was the target.
According to a source close to the family, Smith has a life insurance policy worth R11 million and the money would go to her allegedly ailing business, Mashobane Electrical, if she died.
The business, of which Smith is a shareholder, is linked to a number of lucrative tenders, including some from Eskom.
According to the company website, major clients include the Nongoma, Utungulu and Umhlathuse municipalities.
The source said Hawks investigators had visited the coastal town and taken charge of the attempted murder docket.
Officers had reportedly taken possession of a bloodied shirt, thought to have been worn by the gunman. He was wounded in an exchange of fire with a security guard who had pursued him.
Hawks spokesman Paul Ramaloko confirmed the investigation had been taken over.
Williamson was taking her brother to school, which her mother usually did, when she was shot several times at close range by a lone gunman.
Reece Williamson, 10, was not hurt in the hail of bullets.
Williamson said that while she was parked in her driveway, waiting for her brother to join her, she noticed a man loitering near their gate. Seconds later he opened fire on the car before running away.
The tinted windows of the Toyota Fortuner would have made it impossible for the gunman to confirm who was in the driver’s seat, and the shots fired at close range indicate the intention was to kill the driver.
In the wake of the shooting, Smith questioned the motive of the attack. She said the vehicle was not stolen and nor were any valuables from her daughter, which indicated it was not a botched hijacking.
Fearing for their safety, the family fled their impressive Mtunzini home to stay at an undisclosed location.
The Durban student is recovering in a Richards Bay hospital after being critically injured in the apparent assassination attempt.
Last week she underwent surgery to remove bullets lodged in her hand and chest and was in a stable condition.
Jaco Derckson, a labour consultant acting on behalf of Smith, has written a letter to KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Mmamonnye Ngobeni pleading for a task team to investigate the shooting.
He claimed the attempt on Smith’s life was directly linked to the business and insurance.
He was quoted as saying he had tried to settle a dispute between Smith and business partner Christo Bornman on the grounds that Mashobane Electrical was in financial difficulty and Smith wanted to bail out.
He confirmed to the Sunday Tribune that “a special investigative team” was probing the shooting, but would not elaborate.
Smith’s partner, Bornman, dismissed claims that the business stood to gain from Smith’s death. “All the facts (reported in the press) are wrong. The bank and her estate would be the beneficiaries of her life insurance.”
He said he had instructed his attorney to sue Derckson and a newspaper that published the claims, saying he had been defamed.
“We are suing all the newspapers and that guy Jaco Derckson… there is big s*** coming for them.”
Further comment should be obtained from his lawyer and insurance broker, he said.
Bornman’s attorney, Joe Coetzee, confirmed his client would sue a newspaper and Derckson for defamation.
“We have filed papers at the high court and the respondents should receive their summons soon. It is going to be for a significant amount,” he said.
Bornman’s broker, who works for Momentum and did not want to be named, told the Sunday Tribune two policies existed. “There is a life insurance policy for Mrs Smith to cover surety. In the event of her death, the bank would reclaim her debt from her estate.
“The second policy is a buy and sell agreement – that is, if Mrs Smith were to die, the policy would pay out the business and Christo Bornman would be obliged to buy her shares. This money would go to her estate,” he said.
He confirmed he would not let Smith cancel the policies before the shooting. “She did try to cancel and I refused, because both business partners need to agree or it would be against the law.”