Narandas gets 18 years
Found guilty of murder after 37 appearances in six years
DURBAN socialite and businessman Rajiv Narandas arrived at the Alexandra Magistrate’s Court on Friday dressed in a blue suit with a black shirt and diamante-embellished black tie, confident he was going to walk out a free man.
Minutes later, his composure was shattered when magistrate Renier Boshoff convicted him of the 2008 murder of Veenand Singh.
Narandas began to cough and vomit, forcing Boshoff to call a short break to allow him to compose himself.
When proceedings resumed — his 37th appearance in the six-year trial — Boshoff said the state had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt. He sentenced Narandas to 18 years in prison.
Singh was stabbed outside Shoukara nightclub in Sandton in 2008.
Boshoff said it was clear Narandas and his friends were the main aggressors.
During argument for sentencing, prosecutor Adele Barnard said Narandas had shown no remorse, had had previous run-ins with the law and lacked maturity.
She cited two other cases, one in
which Narandas was involved in a legal battle with his mother and her partner, Marco Accolla, about a threeyear-old Pomeranian, Pookie, and another in which he was sentenced to community service for the attempted murder of a former friend, Lance Moodley.
She said Narandas was part and parcel of the group of “aggressors” — three of the four men in his group were armed.
Singh and his friends were unarmed. A distressed Bashantha Sannasy, Singh’s girlfriend, called her cousins for reinforcement when she saw him surrounded by Narandas and his friends, said Boshoff.
“It seems as if you tailored your answers as the case went on. You refused to take responsibility for what you did. Your case tells a story of a gang of men who were looking for trouble.
“If you carry weapons, killing is foreseeable. You called the shots, but all four of you should have also been prosecuted.”
Singh’s mother, Ishara, fought back her tears as she asked the court to give Narandas a life sentence.
“Nothing can compare to losing a child. Words can’t describe what we feel. Veenand was happy he got a promotion and called to tell us not to worry about money — my husband was about to retire. ‘Mommy, don’t worry about money. I have a good job. I’ll take care of you. You and dad go on a holiday,’ he told me. We brought up our children with love, culture, kindness and the sense to know right from wrong,” said Singh.
Manny Witz, Narandas’s advocate, applied for leave to appeal, which Boshoff granted. Narandas’s bail of R10 000 was extended. He left court hand in hand with his long-term girlfriend, Samantha Naidoo.
Sannasy said she was relieved Narandas had been convicted, but devastated he was granted bail. “He belongs in prison,” she said.