Durban - The domestic worker found guilty yesterday of killing her employer may not have actively participated in the Shallcross pensioner’s assault and strangulation, but the court found that she did nothing to save the life of the woman for whom she had worked for eight years.
Happiness Mkhize, 35, was said to be the mastermind behind Menrani Brijlal’s murder in May 2017. Mkhize and her accomplices Doctor Mabhida, 41, and Sibongiseni Gumbi, 31, were found guilty of murder and robbery with aggravating circumstances.
Evidence led by State advocate Khatija Essack was that on the day of the murder, the trio had entered Brijlal’s home on the pretext of wanting to buy a fridge. Once inside, the assailants had bound and gagged her.
She was struck on the head with a brick and strangled with an apron.
The state had alleged the three then went to Brijlal’s bedroom and found R600 in cash.
Mkhize had testified that she took Gumbi and Mabhida to Brijlal to buy a fridge from her, but left the two men there without entering the house.
She told the court that she worked for Brijlal, who lived alone after she separated from her husband many years ago, saying the elderly woman treated her like family. She also testified that Brijlal assisted her to get jobs at other households in the area.
She denied the confession statement made shortly after she was arrested, claiming the police had assaulted her, forcing her to say the things contained in the statement.
But Durban High Court Judge Mahendra Chetty ruled the statement be admitted as evidence in court. In his judgment, Judge Chetty said although Gumbi and Mabhida had shifted the blame in their defence, as to who did what, and had both disassociated themselves, all three had allowed the crime to happen.
He said evidence led that Mkhize stood there and did nothing, qualified her as having acted in common purpose with Gumbi and Mabhida.
“From the evidence, it shows that a plan to rob Brijlal was formulated before, but it’s difficult to conclude that murder was also part of the plan and pre-meditated,” said Judge Chetty.
Emmanuel Chiliza, Gumbi’s lawyer, during mitigation of sentence, argued that the court should consider that Gumbi was orphaned at a young age and was forced to sell drugs to survive.
Mkhize’s lawyer Gcina Khumalo argued that she had already spent two years in jail. Mabhida’s lawyer, advocate Winston Maqutu, tried to convince the court to consider that Gumbi and Mabhida had smoked drugs on the day of the incident.
Essack argued in aggravation of sentence - for a life sentence for murder and 15 years for the robbery. She said Mkhize had shown no remorse.
“As a woman herself, she watched as a woman was assaulted and killed. She then searched the house. They found R600 cash and committed to take R150 each. It is obvious that all three of them wanted to kill Brijlal.”