Daughter testifies in dad’s killing
VELASH Lombaard would speak to her father several times a day. When she could not contact him on any of his phones, she became worried and went to his farm to check on him.
She found that her father, 74-yearold Sagadava “Manna” Naidoo, a former mayor and farmer, had been shot in the head and thrown on to the railway tracks metres from his home in Canelands, Verulam. This was on May 24, 2022.
Lombaard was testifying at the start of trial of the three men, Sibongiseni Langa, 29, Clement Nkwanyana, 27, and Ignatius Chihoho, 46, all of Verulam, in the Durban High Court last week.
The men, charged with murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances and unlawful possession of a semi-automatic firearm and ammunition, pleaded not guilty.
They were arrested by members of the provincial Organised Crime Unit: Warrant Officers Bob Pillay, Praveen Sukdeo, Praveed Maharaj and Denver Parbhu.
According to the indictments presented to the court by senior state advocate Denardo MacDonald, at some time prior to the incident the accused decided and planned to rob and kill Naidoo.
He said a bridge on the Naidoos’ farm had been damaged and required repairs. On the morning of May 24, 2022, Naidoo enlisted the assistance of Langa and another person, Basopa, to repair it.
MacDonald said unbeknown to Naidoo, the plan to rob and kill him was already in motion, and Nkwanyana and Chihoho were waiting in the bushes nearby.
“At some point, the accused and Basopa accosted the victim and forcibly moved him to his farmhouse where his hands and feet were bound.
“After removing certain items and cash from the victim’s house, he was then placed in his vehicle (a Toyota Hilux) and taken to a secluded spot where he was executed,” he said.
According to the post-mortem report, the father of nine suffered a gunshot wound to the head.
Last Thursday, Lombaard told the court that after several attempts to contact her father that day, she managed to speak to him at about 4.30pm for a short while. However, when she called him the next morning, the call went to voicemail.
“I tried again, but it went to voicemail. I tried his second cellphone number, but that also went to voicemail. At first I assumed it was a network issue and my dad would call me back.
“I had a work meeting, and as soon as it ended, I tried both numbers again and both went to voicemail. Out of desperation, I called a third cellphone number, which he rarely used, but that
also went to voicemail,” she said.
Lombaard said she and her husband, who both work from home, decided to go to Naidoo’s farm.
“While driving to the farm, I kept calling his numbers. When we got to the farm entrance, and parked in front of the boom gate, I became really concerned.
“For the first time in over a year, the boom gate was closed and it was not locked with a padlock – but with a piece of wire twisted around the chain. Before we could enter, I tried to call my dad again,” she said.
Lombaard said after entering the property, they walked to the back of the house to the kitchen door.
“The first thing I noticed was that my dad’s bakkie was not in the parking bay. We then walked to the front of the house for which I have a set of keys.
“As we entered the house, I called out for my dad – but there was no answer. I walked towards his bedroom, and noticed the door was ajar. I walked in, but he was not there.
“I then walked to his study and at the doorway, I noticed his safe was open. I immediately knew something wasn’t right. My dad never left the safe open. A bunch of keys for the safe and house were in the safe door,” she said.
Lombaard said she noticed that Naidoo’s guns and money were missing from the safe, and there were some bullets still inside and on the floor.
“I immediately called my brother, Yushen (Naidoo), and told him: ‘Daddy is missing. They’ve taken Daddy’. I asked him to please call for help. My husband and I then searched the rest of the property.
“After a short while, my brothers, Reaction Unit South Africa, police, family members and friends arrived, and we searched for my dad,” she said.
Lombaard said the following day (May 26), they were alerted that “someone” had been found.
“A family friend informed us that they found someone by the railway tracks and we should go there. We went down a dirt road near dad’s farm.
“We crossed the railway tracks and were asked to wait on one side. I saw a reaction officer approach Yushen, who after a few minutes walked towards us and said it was our dad. They found my dad. He was late (dead),” she said.
Asked if she recognised any of the accused, Lombaard said that she knew Langa.
She said he worked on the farm during the litchi season – between December 2021 and January 2022.
“My dad called him ‘Rasta’, he had dreadlocks and wore a woollen ‘Rastafarian’ hat. I remember him as I assisted my dad on the farm with keeping records,” she said.
The trial continues. The accused are currently in custody at Westville Prison.