Slain man was ‘firm not abusive’ – family
THE family of slain businessman Govindarajoo Chinnian has rejected claims that he was verbally abusive towards his staff.
Chinnian’s son Pragasan told POST that his father was a “firm businessman” who had been operating for over 45 years and had had no problems, until he was murdered.
“He worked with thousands of people. He was a firm businessman. If someone was not doing their job properly, he would tell them, but he never went to the extent of ill-treating his staff.”
Pragasan said even though both killers claimed to have been unhappy, they could have sought help from the CCMA, the courts, or even left work, instead of murdering his father: “Their allegations are… exaggerated.”
Pragasan, with about 50 family members, bused from Verulam to the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Monday, and held a demonstration outside the courthouse calling for justice.
“We are happy that they have been arrested, but we are still without our father, husband, grandfather,” he said.
He called for both Mhlongo and Mthethwa to get life sentences.
“They wanted increases. Both men had been working for less than three months, one for less than two weeks,” he said. “One only gets an increase after three months.”
Pragasan did not accept the accuseds’ version of his father’s character: “My father was a man of principles, integrity and quality.”
He praised the provincial task team’s Rajen Govender and his colleagues for their work in apprehending both suspects a day after the docket was handed to their department: “It gives the family a little bit of satisfaction that both guys have been caught.”