Families still awaiting justice to be served
DATE: May 5-9 HEADLINE: Dad dies after being beaten, dragged by car
A CROSSMOOR father died after allegedly being beaten and dragged under a car for about five metres.
The incident occurred allegedly after an altercation between Nichalen Naidoo, 39, and a group of people who were making a ruckus in the neighbourhood where he lived.
Naidoo was at home watching TV when he heard cars screeching, revving and wheel spins. He approached the group to tone down the noise. They allegedly beat him and he was knocked three times and dragged under one of their vehicles. Naidoo suffered head injuries, a broken hip, leg, and fingers, and his ear was torn.
A 31-year-old suspect was arrested and charged with murder. He appeared at the Chatsworth Magistrate’s Court and received bail.
UPDATE: Naidoo's wife, Rebecca Naidoo, said: “The case was adjourned to December 8 and it was again adjourned to January for further investigation. It is heartbreaking to see a person who killed someone pay just R3 000 bail. I lost my husband and my children lost their father, yet his killer lives a normal life.”
DATE: July 21-25 HEADLINE: Tribute paid to pastor
PASTOR Adrian Naidoo, who preached the word of God for 24 years, was shot and killed while protecting his community during the unrest in July.
Naidoo, 46, of Bayview, was accompanied by two friends to Turnstone Avenue in Bayview, where they met with an opposition group of patrollers who allegedly became aggressive and threatened them. While they tried to drive to safety, the rival group allegedly fired at his car. Naidoo was shot near the neck and his lower back.
His friends were not injured. Naidoo succumbed to his injuries in hospital. He was the founder and senior pastor of Jubilee Church in Silverglen and the first chairperson of the Bayview sub-forum that assists the police in creating awareness of crime in the area. UPDATE: Two people were arrested and charged with murder. They were later released and the charges were dropped due to the lack of evidence.
DATE: August 18 to 22 HEADLINE: Couple visit their burnt home
DURING the July unrest, Daya and Savy Naicker’s four-bedroomed home in Duffs Road was looted and petrol bombed. This forced them to seek safety elsewhere. In mid-August, the couple visited the home after more than a month. Narendh Ganesh, the chairperson of the
Duffs Road Civic Association, and members of the community, began raising funds to help rebuild the couple’s home which they had lived in for 30 years. UPDATE: The Duffs Road Civic Association’s crowdfunding campaign has raised R43 550 towards the rebuild. Daya Naicker said: “My wife and I lost everything that we owned for many years. We did have a small structure insurance, which we are now waiting on, and this together with the funding will help us restart our lives.”
DATE: August 18-22 HEADLINE: Verulam family angry after toddler suffers head injury
THE family of Alwande Mgulwa wants justice for the Verulam toddler after she was allegedly injured by a horse in August.
The 2-year-old from Riet River had pried open the door to a communal toilet and wandered out ahead of her mom.
Seconds later, her mother Anele Mgulwa heard a loud sound and found her daughter unconscious.
Mgulwa said a horse from a neighbouring property had entered the area and was hovering over her daughter.
Alwande who sustained head injuries, was admitted to a government hospital.
Her family said the horse's owner allegedly refused to take responsibility for what had happened. There was no one on the property when the POST arrived at the owner's premises. The person believed to own the horses had not responded to calls or messages at the time of publication.
UPDATE: Police said the matter was still under investigation. Mgulwa said: “Alwande has been receiving medical treatment and is on the road to recovery. The wound has healed. However, justice did not prevail for what happened to my daughter. The owner of the horse still did not take responsibility for what had happened.”
DATE: August 25-29 HEADLINE: Father killed while trying to make peace
A CHATSWORTH father who wanted his son to make peace with a man who was allegedly harassing him, was killed following a dispute.
Suntesh Mittoo's son, Shoaib Shaik, 20, went to a nearby shopping complex on Florence Nightingale Drive. He claimed he was harassed.
Shaik said he went home and told his dad about what had happened and they thereafter returned to the shopping complex with the intention of making peace and moving forward.
Mittoo, 42, was allegedly assaulted with hockey sticks and stabbed with knives.
He later died of his injuries in hospital. Two suspects fled the scene. UPDATE: The victim's brother, Pranesh Mittoo, said: “It has been four months since my brother was ambushed and killed by four suspects, a father and three sons. The father and youngest son
were released on warning, not even bail, in August. The other two suspects were on the run for 45 days. They turned themselves in and appeared in court. They said they did not do anything and were not at the scene and they were granted bail.”
In November, all four suspects appeared in court. The case was adjourned to January.
DATE: September 1-5 HEADLINE: Patroller killed in burglary
VASU Ravi Chetty, a member of the Shallcross community police forum, died after he was stabbed during a house robbery.
It is alleged that three men entered his property after they scaled over the boundary fence on August 26 at around 6am. It is believed the group confronted him when he opened the door. Chetty and his wife were then tied with cable ties, while robbers ransacked their home. A case of murder and house robbery was opened.
UPDATE: Sibusiso Nzama, Anele David Tshambo and Phathokuhle Buhle Dube, the three suspects accused of two Shallcross house robberies and the killing of Chetty, were denied bail in the Chatsworth Magistrate’s Court. They were charged with murder and robbery with aggravating circumstances. They appeared in court on December 14. The matter was adjourned to January.
DATE: October 27-31 HEADLINE: Man dies in hail of bullets
RANASH Singh, a La Lucia accountant, was killed in a shooting incident alleged to be a hit, in Armstrong Avenue. Singh sustained multiple gunshot wounds and died at the scene. A case of murder is being investigated by Durban North SAPS.
UPDATE: Colonel Thembeka Mbele, a provincial police spokesperson, said the matter is still under investigation and no arrests had been made.
DATE: December 1-5 HEADLINE: Long wait for DNA results
MONTHS have passed and a Chatsworth father is still awaiting the DNA results for a decomposed body that could be his son’s.
Rahim Hoosain, 64, of Croftdene, last saw his son, Sebastian Hoosain, 32, on April 28, 2020.
He dropped him off outside the RK Khan Hospital but the son never returned home. Sebastian lived on the streets, but he visited his home every day.
The investigating officer visited his home last August and showed the father a photograph of a decomposed body that was found in the field behind the hospital.
The father believed it was his son judging from the socks he saw.
Last September, the investigating officer and two other officers went home to perform a DNA swab test on Sebastian’s mom.
Fourteen months have passed and they have still not received the results or any feedback. According to the Victim Identification Centre, a sample was taken in September last year, but there was a problem with Sebastian’s mom’s sample.
At the time, they said they had ordered a retake of the sample, which would be conducted soon.
The decomposed body remains at the mortuary.
UPDATE: The retake of the DNA test was done on December 9 at the family's home. The family was told they would receive results in a month or two.
DATE: December 8-12 HEADLINE: Gang’s bullet kills pregnant mom
ROBERTA Sing was four months pregnant with her third child and looking forward to finding out the gender of her baby. But on December 5, she was shot at the back of the head in an alleged drive-by shooting at the George Hill informal settlement in Sydenham.
A man who is allegedly from Cape Town, was shot. A second man was also shot but he managed to get the other victim and Sing into his car and drive to the King Edward VIII Hospital.
The man from Cape Town died of his injuries on arrival and Sing about 30 minutes later
UPDATE: Charges of murder and attempted murder were opened. Robert Sing, Roberta’s father, believes the men who killed his daughter will not be found.
“The family is facing a very difficult time.”
In honour of Roberta, the community and local churches recently participated in a peace march through the area.