Durban - As most people slept, Poongavamun Naicker’s voice regularly filled the air as she sang bhajans at 4am.
It was a daily ritual for the 81-year-old oThongathi (Tongaat) woman. But last Sunday there was only silence.
Naicker’s melodious voice had been silenced. Forever.
Concerned neighbours found the spinster’s bloodied body in her humble home in Outspan Road.
There was blood everywhere, Vimla Govender told POST. “It was too gruesome and I could not go into the house. My husband was in shock. He could not believe that someone would want to hurt a defenceless woman.”
The shock and fear for locals was aggravated by the fact that a few days earlier, another elderly woman had met a similar fate. Ragamma Naidu, 91, was found bound and gagged in her home in Belvedere, oThongathi.
The two murders have now sent shock waves through the North Coast town.
Govender said that when she did not hear Naicker sing her morning bhajans on Sunday she knew something was amiss. “When it got brighter I went to her house to check if she was okay. Everything was closed but the bottom of her door was broken.”
Worried, Govender went home to inform her husband.
“My husband and I walked back to the house. As we approached, we saw a police patrol vehicle driving down the road. My husband flagged down the officers and together with police went into the house, only to find the aunty dead.”
Naicker’s body was in her lounge.
Her niece, Dhaya Govender, said the family were devastated.
“My aunt was a simple woman who loved to garden. Her garden was her pride and joy. She came from the farming community of Herrwood on the North Coast. When the decision to build the King Shaka International Airport was made, she and her sisters were relocated to Tongaat and given homes.”
Dhaya said her aunt had lived alone while her sisters lived together nearby in Potgieter’s Hill. She sold herbs, thyme and dhania at the Tongaat Market.
“My aunt had been robbed 10 times before and there was absolutely nothing of value in the home. I cannot understand why they would want to kill her. When I went to the home, the entire lounge had been covered in her blood. It was gruesome and she did not deserve to die that way.”
Dhaya said she prayed for justice.
“Attacks on elderly women are becoming more and more common and something needs to be done to stop them.”
In the earlier murder, Naidu’s grandson, Evern Naidoo, said his grandmother was alone at home when she was attacked on Wednesday last week.
“Both my parents were out. The suspect, who was known to us for the past 15 years, came home to pick up tools he had left behind the previous day. My grandmother let him in and he attacked her.”
Naidoo said the man shoved her to the ground and she bumped her head.
“He tied her hands and legs and gagged her mouth. He searched through the house and left with beers, cigarettes and some cash.”
Naidoo said when his mother returned home, she found his grandmother lying on the bedroom floor.
“She was hysterical and she ran outside the house calling for help. I can’t understand: Why did they have to kill her?”
Naidoo described his grandmother as a trusting person with a heart of gold.
“We are thankful to police for their swift action in finding the suspect and I hope he gets the maximum penalty for what he did.”
Police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Thulani Zwane confirmed that a suspect was arrested on Monday in connection with Naidu’s murder. He is expected to appear in court this week.
Elderly oThongathi residents said the murders had left them worried about their own safety.
Babs Naidoo said his family had been living in the area for 50 years and previously these incidents were unheard of.
“There were minor robberies but nothing so gruesome and it does raise a concern. Are criminals targeting the elderly?”
A resident, who requested anonymity, said she felt unsafe in her home: “I am 70, I am alone at home when my children go to work.
“I am worried about my safety. We never know who is watching your home, waiting to strike.”
Nazir Sadeck of the local community policing forum believed that the elderly were being targeted.
“They are seen as easy targets by criminals, and to stop these attacks the community needs to band together by intensifying patrols and having guards on streets. Taking this proactive approach against crime may reduce criminal activity.”
Sadeck said he would be visiting senior citizens’ clubs to alert them to what was was going on in the area and how they could protect themselves.
Poongavamun Naicker, and her home, where she was found dead.
POST