Naidu loses second bail bid
‘Little indication’ his health required it
FORMER policeman Gonasagren ‘ Seelan’ Naidu, accused of masterminding the murder of his wife Nalin, has lost his second bid for bail.
The Mount Edgecombe businessman will remain at Westville Prison until his trial begins, possibly in 2017.
He lost his Durban High Court bid on Friday, more than a month after Durban magistrate Vanitha Armu denied the father of two bail, stating that the interest of justice far outweighed his own.
Naidu, who runs three pharmacies, was not in court on Friday, but five members of his family, including his sister, were.
His wife of 26 years went missing on October 29. Her body was found the next day in a field in Shongweni. Her throat had been slit and she had sustained facial injuries.
The couple, from Umhlatuzana before moving to Mount Edgecombe, ran Bellair Pharmacy in Bellair, Baymed Pharmacy in Bayview, Chatsworth, and Shannon Drive Pharmacy in Reservoir Hills.
They have two sons aged 27 and 13.
In May, police arrested hitmen Zwelakhe Maphumulo, 41, and Gcina Magwaza, 37 (see timeline below). They fingered Naidu as the mastermind behind his wife’s murder, claiming he had offered them money to have her killed.
On June 28, Naidu handed himself over to police at the Durban North SAPS.
A few days later he was admitted to hospital after suffering severe chest pains. He was taken to Umhlanga Hospital and later referred to Chatsmed Hospital at the request of his family.
During the first bail application, his attorney, Siven Samuel, argued that his client’s ill health was a serious concern. He called Naidu’s doctor, Avinash Ramkisson, to testify on his client’s medical conditions and why it was not suitable for him to be kept at Westville Prison pending the trial.
On Friday Naidu’s counsel, advocate Murray Pitman, said exceptional circumstances for bail to be granted included that Naidu might require immediate hospitalisation.
He said Naidu, who intended to plead not guilty, was presumed innocent, was needed by his children, was not a flight risk, was not a danger to society, and would not interfere with the investigation.
However, Judge Esther Steyn found that the State had a strong case against the accused.
She also found that Dr Ramkisson’s testimony offered “very little assistance” in showing that Naidu’s health was so exceptional that the interests of justice required his release.
“Dr Ramkisson did not treat Naidu in Chatsmed and did not have first-hand knowledge of Naidu’s cardiac problem.”
In addition, the court found that Ramkisson had proffered opinions on “issues that were not in his field of expertise. He, for one, never visited Westville Prison or the facilities at Westville, yet questioned the Department of Correctional Services’ ability to treat and deal with the appellant as an awaiting-trail prisoner.”
In concluding her judgment on bail, Judge Steyn found that magistrate Armu had not erred in her finding. “I am not convinced that the ultimate decision to deny the appellant bail can be faulted… therefore the appeal to be released on bail is dismissed.”
In 2006, Naidu was convicted for the attempted murder of his wife, sentenced to a period of correctional supervision and given a four-year suspended sentence.
Nalin, who was shot at about five times while dropping off her youngest son at school, had apparently forgiven him.
Two people have been convicted of the murder – Maphumulo and Magwaza, who were jailed for 30 years and 22 years, respectively. Another accused, Kholekile Marriah Sithole, 41, was arrested in June and released on bail. Police are still searching for two
more people.