NATU claims highway robbery was 'assassination attempt' on member
Teacher union, NATU says it is convinced the shooting and robbery incident aimed at its Deputy President, which ended at the Netcare Umhlanga hospital on Friday, was an assassination attempt.
On Friday afternoon - a man was followed from the vicinity of Richards Bay towards Umhlanga with a large amount of money in his luxury Mercedes Benz SUV.
It is said he had also made a stop at one of the car dealerships in Umhlanga. It is believed it is from this point where a group of suspects in a white BMW attacked - shooting at his vehicle.
He was shot but managed to escape and sped off to the Umhlanga hospital where the vehicle followed him. This is when the assailants took his money and some belongings. The union's Siphosethu Ngcobo confirms that the driver was in fact their Deputy President, Allen Thompson, who he believes was targeted for being outspoken on a number of issues.
"We strongly believe that it was a hit - a planned hit. Remember that he is a spokesperson of the organisation. so we believed the most important thing was to silence him.
"They tried to remove anything that could be of evidence such as laptops and so on", Ngcobo said.
Meanwhile the police's Nqobile Gwala says their still investigating and no arrests have been made. She says citizens must avoid carrying large amounts of money with them.
"At this stage the motive is still unknown. We are also appealing to community members to make sure that they do not carry large amounts of cash.
"Also, if they suspect they are being followed by a suspicious vehicle they must quickly go to the nearest police station for safety", Gwala said.
A case of armed robbery and attempted murder is being investigated.