Durban — The Durban High would be hearing the pre-trial conference of four men who allegedly executed a 74-year-old Verulam man and dumped his body in a sugar-cane field in a robbery where his firearms and his Toyota Hilux were taken.
The body of the former mayor of Verulam, Sagadava “Manna” Naidoo, was found after a two-day search. His hands and legs had been tied with rope and had a single bullet wound to the head.
Naidoo owned a farm that he lived on in Canelands, Verulam.
Sibongiseni Langa, Thabani Ndlovu, Clement Nkwanyana, and Ignatius Chihoho stand accused of the 2022 murder and are expected to appear before the court on 17 July.
The State alleged that at all material times, the accused acted in concert with each other in the furtherance of a common purpose to commit the crimes they have been charged with.
Further that at some point prior to the incident one of the accused was employed by the farm owner.
“Prior to the incident the accused decided and planned to rob the deceased of his belongings and kill him. A bridge on the farm belonging to the deceased had been damaged and required repairs. On the morning of Tuesday the 24th of May 2022 he enlisted the assistance of his employee to repair the bridge. Unbeknownst to the deceased the plan to rob and kill him was already in motion and the said accused agreed.
“At some point, the accused accosted the deceased and forcibly moved him to his farmhouse where his hands and feet were bound. After removing items from the house of the deceased he was then placed in his vehicle and taken to a secluded spot where he was executed. The post-mortem report reflects the cause of death as a gunshot wound to the head. The offence was pre-meditated and planned by the accused.”
The men are also charged with robbery with aggravating circumstances as well as the unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition without a license to have such.
“The aggravating circumstances being that the accused inflicted grievous bodily harm before, during or after the commission of the offence… Accused 2 (Ndlovu) unlawfully and intentionally engaged in conduct intended to enable the perpetrators of, or the accomplices in the crime of murder, to evade liability for their crime in that he assisted them in disposing of property belonging to the deceased after the commission of the offences,” alleges the State.
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