Judgment in case of four Dwarika murder accused expected on Wednesday

TimesLIVE

19-05-2025

Durban high court judge Khosi Hadebe on Monday refused to entertain a request by an accused linked to the murder of Mangosuthu University of Technology engineering lecturer Chanlall 'Shan' Dwarika for time to sort out his banking issues.
Kwanele Makhaye, 29, through his legal representative, had asked to address the court on his banking woes. He told the court that there was R11,000 in his bank account but he was unable to retrieve the money as his card was lost.
Makhaye also told the court his four children were suffering due to his detention and the death of his father last year. 'Two of my children are staying with my mother while the other two are staying with their mother,' he said.
He also said he was assaulted by the police on the day of his arrest.
Hadebe did not entertain Makhaye's concerns.
'Mr Makhaye, since you are not on bail there must be security measures which should be put in place and the investigating officer can also not assist you,' said Hadebe.
Makhaye is charged alongside Siyabonga Freeman Mahaye, 35, Thobani Mhlongo, 23, and Sihle Mkhize, 23, with kidnapping, robbery with aggravating circumstances and murder. Mhlongo has previously pleaded guilty on all charges.
Hadebe was on Monday expected to deliver judgment in the case against the four suspects but she indicated she was not ready to proceed as she was still preparing the judgment. The case was then adjourned until Wednesday.
Dwarika, 63, was kidnapped on May 28 in 2023 and later found dead. His body, according to police spokesperson Col Robert Neshiunda, was found in Mafuya Road in Inanda six days later.
According to the indictment, Dwarika owned a property in Sea Cow Lake while he lived on another property in Verulam, north of Durban.
Dwarika was renovating the Sea Cow Lake property as he intended to sell it to a tenant, identified as Pastor Miya. However, renovations were marred by the continued theft of materials.
Another accused, Mahaye, hobbled into court using crutches and told senior prosecutor adv Krishen Shah he had been left injured in the prison showers.
'It's not nice being in prison,' lamented Mahaye. This prompted Shah to sympathise with him by saying 'sorry'.
Dwarika's family members attended the court sitting.
Previously, Dwarika's daughter Ayuush Rajbansi had testified in court. Rajbansi, who is based in Johannesburg and had access to her father's FNB cheque account, told the court there were a number of transactions which made her suspicious on the day he went missing.
'Three other transactions related to purchases made at a tavern,' said Rajbansi. She called her mother and contacted an aunt to find out about his whereabouts and found he was not with them.
'I put out a flyer on WhatsApp and Facebook and contacted [security company Reaction Unit SA,' said Rajbansi. She notified her manager about her father going missing.
'I was given time off work and my brother and I drove to Durban. On the way we received information from a neighbour who told us she had seen my dad with three men.'
Rajbansi said they asked for footage from the neighbour, which they sent to the security company. A clip of the video footage of Dwarika being kidnapped from his Sea Cow Lake property was screened in court. In the video, the lecturer is seen being bundled into a vehicle. Three men are with him but their faces are not clearly visible in the dark.
Rajbansi said her father planned to sell the property because of theft and burglary.
In November, Mkhize during his testimony, told the court how the lecturer had begged for his life before his throat was slit.
Postmortem reports indicated that Dwarika's throat was slit and he was also partially decapitated. Mkhize denied that Dwarika was assaulted and forced to increase the limit in his banking account before being taken to the bushes in Inanda where he was killed.
Mkhize also recalled how when he initially got into Dwarika's Honda SUV, his co-accused was driving and he sat in the front seat while Dwarika was seated at the back.
Mhlongo and Makhaye had previously been identified as the culprits who had hatched a plot to kill Dwarika.