Pietermaritzburg -
Vikesh Harripersad slumped into the dock holding his head in his hands as the Pietermaritzburg Magistrate’s Court refused his bail application on Wednesday.
The 26-year-old is charged with the murder of his landlady, Saras Govender, at her Rajput Road, Pietermaritzburg, home.
Harripersad had been living as a tenant in Govender’s home, with his girlfriend and her five children, for the past three months.
On the morning of August 27, Govender, 57, was found on her bed with a pillow over her face and her arms and legs tied to the bedpost. She had been murdered two days before.
Govender, who was unmarried and had no children, was believed to have suffocated.
The State opposed Harripersad’s application, with investigating officer Sergeant Sheldon Norman testifying that the accused’s girlfriend had alerted police to his alleged involvement in the landlady’s murder.
She told police he had admitted to the murder and explained how he had killed Govender.
Norman said the motive for the murder was clearly not robbery, because only two items were taken from the house – a prayer chain that Govender wore and her cellphone.
The State believes the evidence against Harripersad includes cellphone data – WhatsApp messages between him and his girlfriend relating to the murder – an alleged confession to a magistrate following his arrest and DNA evidence.
It was also revealed that although Harripersad was living with his girlfriend, he was still legally married to another woman, with whom he had two sons.
He is also unemployed and has no fixed address or assets.
Norman said he believed that if Harripersad were released on bail, he would evade trial and was likely to intimidate State witnesses, including his girlfriend.
Magistrate Ntosaki Ndawonde said in a brief judgment on Wednesday that she had taken all the relevant evidence into account and she did not believe it was in the interests of justice that Harripersad be released on bail.
The case was adjourned to November 24.
Daily News