Murder trial which lasted 6 years to reopen

Four years after being convicted of the murder of a KZN building contractor, his alleged killers will reopen their trial.

Durban - Four years after being convicted of the murder of KwaZulu-Natal building contractor Deenadayalan Govender, his alleged killers have been granted leave to reopen their trial and lead further evidence.

The full bench of the Pietermaritzburg High Court granted the application the previous day..

Govender was shot dead at a building site in Verulam on July 6, 2004.

His business partner, Pranesh Heeralall and Khetukuthula Bobo Chamane, were found guilty of the murder and sentenced to 25 years and 20 years respectively.

The court found that Heeralall had hired Chamane to kill Govender to claim from an insurance policy of which he was the beneficiary.

Both Heeralall and Chamane pleaded not guilty, but were convicted by the now-retired Judge Thumba Pillay in April 2011.

The trial lasted almost six years, consisted of a 270-page judgment and a trial record that covered about 4 000 pages in 41 bound volumes.

When the case came on appeal before the full bench of the high court in Pietermaritzburg in February this year, legal representatives were presented with crucial new evidence that emerged and the pair subsequently applied to reopen their trial.

The court was told that witnesses, whom the investigating officer, Captain Anton Lockem – who is now with the Hawks – had apparently said were dead and could not be called, were in fact alive and had provided statements to this effect.

Another witness, Wiseman Dlamini, was also not called to testify at the trial and it appeared the police had not taken a statement from him.

In his affidavit, Dlamini said he had accompanied Govender to Standard Bank, and then to the Verulam building site on the day of the murder.

He said that a white bakkie had followed them from the bank to the building site.

When he and Govender alighted from their vehicle, Govender had been approached by men from the bakkie, who pointed a firearm at Govender and demanded money.

Govender and the gunman had a tussle over a white envelope that Govender had in his hand, and Govender pleaded with the gunman not to kill him.

Dlamini said he ran to get help, but before he could return, he heard gunshots. When he and his co-workers reached Govender, they saw he had been shot in the head.

Dlamini also alleged that after the murder, he had been approached by Govender’s wife to lie to certain lawyers that it was Heeralall who had sent the men to kill Govender. Dlamini said he had been offered R20 000 to lie, but had refused.

“The dictates of fairness require that all relevant information bearing on my guilt or innocence should be before the trial court to enable it to determine the true facts,” Heeralall said.

Chamane also alleged serious irregularities in his application to lead further evidence.

He claimed that while incarcerated at the Kutana Sinthumile Prison in Limpopo, Govender’s son, Killendran had asked him to abandon his appeal and to implicate Heeralall in his father’s murder. Chamane said he had refused and instead alerted police.

In granting the application, Acting Judge Kobus Booyens said it was clear from further investigations by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate that there are a number of “potential anomalies” in the evidence that had been led before the first trial court.

The acting judge also referred to Dlamini’s affidavit, and said that as a witness to the murder, it was unusual that he had not been called as a state witness at the time of the trial, and it appeared that the police had never taken his statement.

Dlamini’s girlfriend, Zanele Lily Mkhize, who was employed at the building site where Govender was killed, is a witness who was said to have died, but is alive.

“It is apparent to me that her evidence and that of Dlamini could have an influence on the finding of the court and it is necessary that this be examined properly,” the judge said.

A date for the hearing is yet to be set and it is also unclear whether the case will be heard before retired Judge Pillay or another judge.

Daily News

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