Court cases that shocked the city and the country
THE YEAR has been full of high drama and shock appearnaces in Durban courts. Here are some cases that made headlines this year.
Shahiel Sewpujun murder This case stirred the hearts of parents and families across the region – a 9-year-old boy from Phoenix never made it to school one Friday morning in February 2015.
Relatives, with whom he was living – Kavitha Naiker, 32, and her mother Rajwanthie Haripersadh, 56 – were sentenced in the Durban High Court last month.
The Grade 4 Clayhaven Primary School pupil was hit on the head with a chisel, his mouth covered with tape and his naked body placed in a bin bag and later dumped in a nearby drain, the court heard. Naicker and Haripersadh had pounced on him as he was getting ready for school.
Naicker and Haripersadh were described as unco-operative. They drank brake fluid in an apparent suicide attempt.
Judge Dhaya Pillay sentenced Haripersadh to 25 years in jail, while Naicker was handed a life term. He said the murder was not a spurof-the-moment act, and while the State alleged that the motive was because Shahiel was naughty, the court found the motive was not clear.
Trevor Kershaw, former Glenwood High principal Kershaw was well known in education, leading one of the best known schools in the greater Durban area since 1999.
But earlier this year, Kershaw appeared in the Durban Commercial Crime Court facing charges of allegedly defrauding, alternatively stealing from, the school.
He submitted his resignation last December and stands accused of having made 1 623 false claims for refunds totalling just R5.2 million.
According to documents, among the transactions, Kershaw allegedly claimed R971 500 payable to himself and another related party through 107 “home-made” invoices. The trial begins on August 16.
Kershaw has not pleaded. Outside court he previously denied any wrongdoing.
Baby X: In another case of child cruelty, Baby X, as she is known in the courts, died after being abused, including rape, allegedly at the hands of her mother and grandmother.
The Chatsworth pair were charged with her death in November 2014. They face charges of child abuse, assault and sexual assault against the little girl’s two older siblings.
It was alleged in court that the children, including Baby X, would be used by the mother for begging on the streets.
It was alleged that all three children were assaulted by their own mother and granny. The abuse included being burnt with cigarettes or hit on their private parts, hit with rulers and spoons, and Baby X had been deprived of food and tied to the bed at night with string, and had not been taken for medical treatment.
In court, it was alleged Baby X’s mother and granny slapped and throttled her before she was thrown to the ground; struck repeatedly on her head, face and body with shoes, and on the night of her death a plastic packet was placed over her head and tied at her neck while she was tied to the bed. Their trial continues. “Brothel” doctor wins case, plans to sue State Durban doctor Genchen Rugnath and his wife, Ravina, were arrested four years ago on charges of running a brothel at the Inn Town lodge in the Point area.
After a long-running case, the couple was cleared in March of charges of human trafficking, racketeering and running a brothel, and said they planned to sue the State.
Sandile Zweni, 37, Nonduzo Dlamini, 24, and Bhabha Dubazini, 29, were found guilty on charges relating to trafficking and prostitution.
The staff said the couple were aware of the prostitution.
The lodge’s manager, Veena Budhram, turned State witness, but was labelled a “pathological liar” by magistrate Simphiwe Hlope.
Narandas He has been in the spotlight for years, and in May, Durban socialite and convicted murderer Rajiv Narandas, began serving his 15-year jail term for the 2008 murder of Veenand Singh outside a Joburg club.
Prior to the imprisonment, Narandas caused a frenzy because police could not confirm his whereabouts. His mother, Roseanne, posted comments on social media of where he could be. After a few days, police confirmed he was in jail.
Narandas approached the Constitutional Court to appeal his conviction and sentence, but it was dismissed earlier this year.
In October, he made headlines again as he apparently got into a fight with an inmate at Westville Prison, which is being investigated.