Durban - MURDER was on top of the news agenda in KwaZulu-Natal with several people killed in a tit-for-tat drug war in Shallcross and the south Durban community of Wentworth. Durban activist Yousuf Deedat was slain in January and the ongoing taxi-related violence has topped the list for Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula.
JANUARY
A 10-month old baby and schoolgirl were among the three people gunned down when a minibus taxi travelling between KwaNyuswa and Cato Ridge was riddled with bullets while travelling on Eddie Hagan Drive near Inchanga. No arrests made.
Leading international Muslim scholar and activist Yousuf Deedat, 65, was shot in the head by an unknown gunman outside the Verulam Magistrate's Court. He died a few days later at St Anne’s hospital in Pietermaritzburg. No arrests made.
A drug war in Shallcross claimed the lives of seven people in the space of four months. Tarry Samuel, 48, a tavern and tuckshop owner was killed at his business premises on Taurus Street in Shallcross. On December 29, Department of Correctional Services warden Stanley Pillay, 47, was shot while he was seated outside the tavern in his vehicle.
In March Devendren Lionel Pillay, 32, and a friend Claudene Rampersad, 32, were shot dead in Alpine Drive. Pillay was the son of Yaganathan Pillay, also known as Teddy Mafia. Two weeks later Pillay’s nephew Joseph Anthony, 40, known as ‘Lucky’, was shot dead in Malvern. He was driving his vehicle when a car pulled up alongside him. The occupants shot him and drove off. On the same night Strini Naidoo, 25, aka Gobbler was shot multiple times while in his home. Police spokesperson Colonel Thembeka Mbele said that a man walked into the yard towards the front door and shot him while he was sitting on the couch.
In April Pregasen Govender, 44, was seated in the passenger seat of his Jeep travelling along Higginson Highway. A car forced them to a halt. The occupants got out and fired a burst of bullets. Govender got out and fled into the bushes on foot but was followed and shot. No arrests have been made.
MAY
Durban businesswoman Premla Moodliar was found dead in her Moses Kotane (Sparks) Road home with her hands and feet bound and her mouth gagged. Mandlakayise Gumede, 36, and Bhekokwakhe Magubane, 32, face murder and robbery charges. Both men are awaiting trial at Westville Correctional Services. Moodliar had owned and lived in the building, Thanam Daya Mansions, where Gumede lived and was the caretaker.
JUNE
The ongoing taxi feud in the KwaSwayimane area, north-east of Pietermaritzburg, had been blamed for the violent attack on a taxi carrying teachers to Masijabule High School, Mbhava Primary and another local school. The shooting left the driver dead and three teachers hospitalised after sustaining critical injuries. Seven others were unharmed physically but were left traumatised. No arrests made.
JULY
Six commuters sustained multiple injuries after the taxi they were travelling in was shot at by gunmen on the M25 in Inanda. No arrests were made.
SEPTEMBER
Three of the most wanted suspects believed to be involved in several cases of minibus taxi violence and murder across two provinces had been arrested in Gauteng. The suspects had been linked to a number of cases of taxi violence in which most of the victims were murdered in KwaZulu-Natal. The men are still in custody.
OCTOBER
Salesh Ramluckhan, 25, was stabbed in the chest trying to apprehend robbers fleeing a crime scene on Quintham Place in Phoenix. He died near his home. No arrests were made.
Nine people, including a police officer stationed at Wentworth police station, are awaiting trial for conspiracy to commit murder in Wentworth. The men have been linked to the continuous violence tormenting the Wentworth community.
The ringleader Jasmin (Moni) Simon was killed two months after being released on bail. She was leaving her home on the Bluff. She allegedly headed the drug gang.
NOVEMBER
Pietermaritzburg Constable Jeandre Andries Jacobus Venter, 30, was killed in Msinga, KwaZulu-Natal. Venter, 30, was stationed at the Alexandra Road Vehicle Crime Investigation Unit. He was in Msinga with his colleague to arrest two people wanted for the theft of a motor vehicle. Police spokesperson Brigadier Jay Naicker said Venter and another police officer arrested a 25-year-old man. They continued to another homestead to arrest a second person. Venter remained in the vehicle with the arrested man. The other police officer went to the second identified house, but when he was a few metres away he heard shots being fired. The police officer returned to the vehicle and discovered that Venter and the man had sustained multiple gunshot wounds to the head and body. No arrests have been made.
In Shallcross, brothers Magendhren and Krean Naidu were shot dead by two gunmen at their granite business in Himalaya Drive. A man walked in with a gun and shot them both. No arrests have been made.
Daily News