A Durban father who was looking forward to celebrating his daughter’s first birthday will never get that opportunity after he was shot and killed by robbers at his home on Friday night.
John Dwanye Naidoo, 32, was shot in the back of his neck while struggling to open the safe in his bedroom.
His wife Mags watched helplessly as three intruders ransacked their house for valuables before shooting the father of their only child.
Still distraught, she said her biggest concern is explaining to 11-month-old Cara what had happened to her father.
“I’m a widow now, but what do I tell my little girl about her dad? He was my everything as a husband, a father, a life partner.
“We were looking forward to the future, raising our daughter, sending her to school, going on holidays and growing old with her. Cara’s first birthday is just over two weeks away. We were extremely excited and planning a huge celebration with family. I don’t know how I’m going to get through this,” she said.
Explaining how the robbery and shooting unfolded, family spokesman Dosh Kalicharan said: “John’s sister Karen had visited them that evening. After supper (8.12pm), John was seeing Karen off when he noticed four men in a car parked near his pedestrian gate.
“When he walked back towards the house three men followed him. Mags, who was standing at the front door, thought about locking the gate, but didn’t when she saw they had a gun pointed at John.
“One of the robbers took the husband and wife to their bedroom, next to the room where Cara was sleeping. John was ordered to open the safe, while the other robbers carried a flat-screen TV, a tablet, a laptop, jewellery and other valuables to the car.
“But when John fumbled as he tried to open the safe, the gunman shot him in the back of the neck and ran away.”
Kalicharan, John’s brother-in-law, said the doting father had ”a heart of gold”.
“He loved his wife and daughter dearly and was completely devoted to them,” said Kalicharan.
John is the only son of prominent Durban businessman Dan Naidoo.
Dan and his wife were holidaying in China at the time of the incident and are due back in Durban later today.
According to Kalicharan, the news of John’s death would have been too much for his mother to bear and she would only be informed once she touches down in Durban.
The family has enlisted the services of a private investigator to help track the perpetrators.
SAPS spokesman Vincent Mdunge confirmed the incident, and said a case of house breaking and murder was being investigated. - Tribune