Durban - The men responsible for the murder of Merebank mother, Soraya “Charmaine” Naidoo, were on Friday sentenced to life imprisonment.
Naidoo’s husband, Inderesen “Alvin” Maistry, Mandlenkosi Jobe and Bongani Manyathi were also sentenced to 15 years for robbery with aggravating circumstances and five years for her kidnapping.
Durban High Court Acting Judge Burt Laing ordered these sentences to be run concurrently with the life sentence.
Jobe was sentenced to a further two years in jail for the possession of an unlicensed firearm.
“There are a number of crimes committed among family members themselves, which is disturbing. The crime was brutal. (Naidoo) was taken by force and stabbed a number of times,” said Laing.
“Clearly the intention was to ensure she was dead.”
Speaking to Maistry, he said: “If you hated the woman so much, the simplest thing was to divorce her.””
He said there was no place in society for “people who commit such savage acts of violence”.
The men are now applying for leave to appeal against their convictions and sentences.
A date for this application has still to be arranged.
On Thursday, emotions ran high in court as Naidoo’s father exchanged words with her killer’s family before arguments for sentencing could begin.
Relatives, the investigating officer and legal counsel tried in vain to calm the father, who shouted to Maistry’s family that their child did not die.
He eventually left the courtroom. Both families have been attending the trial regularly, but things only became heated after the guilty verdict was delivered this week.
Orderlies and security guards in civilian attire then entered the court to sit behind the accused dock and in front of the public gallery.
Maistry, Jobe and Manyathi were convicted on Wednesday for Naidoo’s murder and kidnapping as well as for robbery with aggravating circumstances. Jobe, 41, was found guilty of possession of an unlicensed firearm.
Maistry, 47, and Manyathi, 28, still maintained their innocence on Thursday.
“(Maistry) has a constitutional right to maintain his innocence and unfortunately, the court may see this as not showing remorse, but I disagree,” argued Maistry’s lawyer, advocate Shane Matthews.
Naidoo was kidnapped from her home by two robbers in February 2014, killed and her body dumped in Umbumbulu.
Her car was found abandoned near the Isipingo Hospital.
Laing found that Maistry had planned the ruse of the robbery to have his wife killed.
During his judgment, he referred to several calls and texts between Maistry and Jobe, while Maistry’s stepdaughter, Rohaena Naidoo, was frantically texting and calling him from their Merebank home.
Laing felt there was a probability that Maistry was frantically trying to get hold of Jobe to say Rohaena had a phone in her possession.
On Thursday, Manyathi’s attorney, Shahin Azmuth, told the court her client had lived on the streets since he was 10.
She said there was no parental involvement to teach him right from wrong. He had several drug convictions.
Jobe’s new attorney, Innocent Mthembu, argued his client was the breadwinner to his mother and five children.
Mthembu said Jobe played a minimal role in the kidnapping, robbery and murder because he was not present. “His role started and ended when he paid the men,” said Mthembu.
State advocate, Nadira Moosa, said there was “not a single substantial and compelling circumstance” given for the court to stray from the minimum prescribed sentences of life for murder, 15 years for robbery with aggravating circumstances and five years for kidnapping.
Further, Moosa argued there was no evidence before the court that because of Manyathi living on the streets, he was incapable of exercising any judgement.
Moosa disagreed that Jobe played a passive or minimal role as evidence proved he was the facilitator of the offence.
Daily News
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