Murdered boss was ‘abusive’
TWO hardware store assistants have pleaded guilty to the murder of their boss, whose body was found buried under a pile of cement in a converted shipping container on May 3.
Bongani Siyabonga Mhlongo, 34, of Amaoti, and Sizwe Mthethwa, 29, of Ndedwe Reserve, in their guilty pleas in the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Monday, described Govindarajoo Chinnian as an abusive employer.
Chinnian, 63, was the owner of CNL Hardware in Verulam.
Mhlongo said he had acted in rage.
Both accused offered apologies to Chinnian’s family, saying they were “deeply remorseful” for their actions.
Mhlongo told the court that he began working for Chinnian in January at his hardware store in Ramnagali Road, Verulam, as an assistant.
He said his neighbour, Mthethwa, was desperate to find a job.
“I was reluctant for him to work at my place of employment because the deceased was an abusive employer, in that he would swear and shout at his staff, including me.”
He described Mthethwa as having been in “dire financial constraint” and told him about the vacancy, then Mthethwa joined him in May.
Mhlongo said that in April his relationship with Chinnian had deteriorated further.
“The reason for this was that I had been on sick leave for one week because I had been injured on duty.
“The deceased had refused to pay me during that leave period, even though he had witnessed the incident when a block had fallen off the truck and on to me resulting in a back injury.”
Mhlongo said even when he returned to work, Chinnian refused to increase their wage, which was in the region of R70 to R80 a day.
He claimed that truck drivers had also approached Chinnian for wage increases.
Mhlongo said on May 3, Mthethwa told him that he was the only person offloading blocks and sand.
“When he asked for help, the deceased refused to provide another labourer and he swore at Mthethwa when he wanted to take a lunch break.”
Mhlongo said at the end of the work day, Chinnian had told both him and Mthethwa that they had to stay after work, in case there were customers who arrived late to fetch sand or cement.
“I asked the deceased if he was going to pay overtime and he said no. I was incensed by the way we were being treated and I said to Accused 2 (Mthethwa) that we must kill the deceased. He agreed.”
Mhlongo said Mthethwa had told Chinnian that there was a faulty camera in the cement container.
“We followed the deceased into the container and we closed the door.
“I grabbed the deceased from behind and I strangled him until he was no longer breathing and he fell to the floor.
“I told Mthethwa to put bags of cement on the deceased’s legs, which he did.
“We covered the deceased’s body with bags of cement. Just before we ran away, I moved two bags of cement and took money and a cellphone from the deceased’s pocket.”
Mhlongo said on the way home, he split R750 with Mthethwa, which he stole from Chinnian, and sold his cellphone for R200.
Mhlongo said he had no defence for the crime he committed and asked the court for mercy when imposing a sentence.
In Mthethwa’s guilty plea, he said he had begun working for Chinnian in May and found him to be “verbally abusive”, but could not leave his job as he had to maintain his family.
He concurred with Mhlongo’s version that they became angry about working overtime with no pay and that he had agreed to murder Chinnian.
According to the indictments, Mhlongo and Mthethwa were employed on a casual basis by Chinnian and were unhappy with the salary they received and conspired to rob the deceased and murder him.
The State claims that on the afternoon of May 3, they waited for Chinnian to enter the storage container where Mhlongo strangled Chinnian.
It is alleged that R1 500 cash, a mobile phone valued at R6 500, and a pocket book were stolen from Chinnian.
The matter has been adjourned for sentencing.