A man’s report to Durban police that the vehicle that he and his wife had been travelling in was hijacked, that he had been pushed from the car, and that his wife’s body had been found later in the car was a pack of lies.
Details of the planned killing of Montclair mother-of-two Shanaaz Sewnarain by her husband, Rajive Sewnarain, 42 - which bore similarities to allegations made in the Anni Dewani murder trial - were revealed in the Durban Regional Court on Wednesday .
Shanaaz had previously been shot five times in November in an attack on their car at a stop street, according to police, but survived. No one has yet been charged for that shooting.
Sewnarain, a truck repair company owner, pleaded guilty to the murder of Shanaaz on December 10 and was sentenced to life imprisonment by magistrate Sharon Marks.
Sewnarain told police that he had been hijacked and forced out of the car, a rented Hyundai Getz, but that the hijackers had abducted his wife.
He said he had begged for their lives, to no avail. After being shot in the shoulder, he had blacked out and was pushed from the car. He said he had woken up in hospital.
Police found Shanaaz’s body in the back of the car the same night; she had been shot twice in the chest and once in the neck.
Sewnarain said that the murder of his wife had been set up to look like a botched hijacking.
In his plea, Sewnarain said a hitman had been hired to carry out the act and, to prove the veracity of his hijack claim, he was shot in the shoulder and bundled out of the car.
Sewnarain said his 20-year marriage was volatile and fraught with arguments and that earlier this month, a bus owner, “Boxer”, had said he could help him “take his wife out of his life”.
Sewnarain said that “as a result of my state of mind” he had agreed and Boxer had told him he would plan the hit and that it would cost R30 000.
“He told me that I should take my wife to buy pizza and then drive to my workplace and give him a missed call. I would then drive down the road and, at an arranged spot, someone would jump into the car and this person would carry out the hit.”
Sewnarain paid the money to Boxer and, on December 10, he drove to the spot, where the hitman duly jumped into the car.
“The man advised my wife and I that we were being hijacked and instructed me to drive towards Isipingo. While I was driving, the man fired a shot at my wife. He directed me to drive to an isolated area where he shot me and pushed me out of the car.”
Sewnarain then got into another car driven by Boxer. He said he heard more gunshots coming from the Getz. After a few kilometres, Sewnarain was pushed out of Boxer’s vehicle and blacked out.
In mitigation of sentence, Sewnarain’s attorney, Devin Moodley, said his client was remorseful and regretted his actions.
“It is clearly a heinous crime, but one must view it in the context of the emotions that he was going through.”
Moodley said Sewnarain had co-operated fully with police and was willing to testify against his accomplices.
Prosecutor Blackie Swart said Sewnarain had got a hitman to do the “dirty work” for him.
During the proceedings, Sewnarain held his head in his hands.
In her judgment, Marks said Sewnarain had betrayed his wife and had fooled her into accompanying him.
“You deprived your children of their mother. You had many remedies to get rid of your spouse such as divorce or separation. This type of murder invokes the indignation of the public and requires a sentence which will ensure they do not take the law into their hands.”
Shanaaz’s sisters, who were present at court, became emotional as details of the plot were revealed.
They waited after the proceedings had ended, anxious to get answers from Sewnarain about why he had carried out the murder.
One, Sandy Naidoo, said that as far as she knew Sewnarain and her sister had had a happy marriage.
“We cannot say what happened behind closed doors, but from what we perceived they were happy.”
Another sister, Samantha Pillay, said they could not believe how Sewnarain could have planned the murder of his wife.
She said they were grateful there had been swift justice and praised the investigating team led by the provincial hijacking task team.
Police said Sewnarain’s two accomplices were expected to appear in court today. - The Mercury