Granddad’s killers get hefty jail sentences

DURING a police raid in Durban’s CBD, investigators found a vital piece of evidence that helped them link two women to the 2020 murder of a 81-year-old man who was robbed and shot execution style.

Last week the women, Lungile Qoza, 39, and Ntombikayise Khambule, 47, were sentenced to 20 years in jail for the robbery and murder of Mohammed Salajee, a Chatsworth businessman and community worker.

Salajee’s daughter, Sabira, said while her father’s death devastated the family, the judgment and sentence meant justice had been served.

The pair worked in cahoots and promised to set up business deals for Salajee, including the purchase of a property.

On July 11, 2020, he had R150 000 in cash in his possession for the deal.

Instead, the women overpowered Salajee, tied his hands and feet with his shoelaces, and placed him in the boot of his Toyota Corolla before a hit man they hired shot him twice in his face.

Salajee’s ID book was found in Khambule’s underwear during a police raid about three months after his death.

Regional Court prosecutor Chantal Bisumber used the evidence from an ID parade to place the women at the scene of the crime.

The police raid was aimed at busting Sassa grant scamsters.

At that stage, police were yet to make sense of how Salajee’s body ended up in his car’s boot. The vehicle was found abandoned in the engonyameni area near umlazi.

When police questioned Khambule, they uncovered Qoza’s and her plan to rob and murder Salajee.

It was believed that Khambule had previously been a part-time domestic worker at Salajee’s home in Westcliff, Chatsworth.

She was introduced to Salajee by her boyfriend who worked for him and helped him build a chicken coop in his backyard.

Salajee derived his income from raising chickens, growing vegetables, tailoring and as a chef who catered for large functions from his large Westcliff property.

Cooking large meals was his main source of income, and there was a time when he was involved in his late son’s cut, make and trim (CMT) business.

Khambule was apparently aware of Salajee’s business operations.

She colluded with Qoza, and a hit man was hired.

Sabira said she was surprised when police called her about her father’s ID, and told them he had been killed but was not sure who the attackers were.

“The accused plotted against my father. They told him they had a farm in the Intake area (near Pinetown) and said a local chief would help him buy land. We never got to know the chief.”

She said her father wanted to set up a small-scale farming business on the land he wanted to purchase.

“On the day he was killed, he left with the intention to pay for the property and package his chicken in readiness for sale,” Sabira said.

“He also grew cabbages, and Khambule worked on the field.

“My son-in-law counted my father’s money before he left home and asked him where he was travelling with the large sum of cash, but he wouldn’t say. My son-in-law also offered to accompany him, but he refused.”

Sabira said before her father left home, the women called him repeatedly, asking when he was leaving.

She said it was revealed in court that her father was put in the car’s boot and taken to be executed.

Along the way, the car stalled near Umlazi, and the hit man shot Salajee.

She and her family were left stunned by Salajee’s death and wondered why he was killed.

The hit man, according to Natasha Ramkisson-kara, the National Prosecuting Authority’s Kwazulu-natal spokesperson, died a month after the incident.

The circumstances of his death are unknown.