Durban - The family of murdered Musgrave mother, Shakila Singh, were “disappointed” that the person they believe was the “mastermind” behind the crime was cleared of murder charges.
Judge Bert Laing acquitted Singh’s domestic worker, Nonjabulo Mteki, in the Durban High Court on Friday of charges of murder but found her guilty of robbery with aggravating circumstances.
Mteki’s accomplices, Amon Ngongi and Ally Jumar Abdullah, were found guilty of Singh’s murder and robbery with aggravating circumstances.
Mteki had worked for Singh, a retired teacher, for about 10 years.
The lengthy judgment, which took several days to reach its conclusion late yesterday afternoon, took its toll on Singh’s family, leaving an elderly aunt in tears.
The family had attended each court appearance with T-shirts bearing Singh’s photo. “It’s been two years since her murder, and now we’ve come to this point. We are disappointed at the judgment. Our family believe that her domestic worker was the mastermind behind the crime. She had knowledge of the home, and what the family did. We expected her to also be found guilty of murder along with the two men,” said Ken Maharaj, Singh’s brother-in-law.
He added that if Mteki had found herself being forced into being part of the crime, she could have approached the police and informed them of the plans.
“She was definitely involved. We have to accept the judge’s ruling, and hope that the sentencing of all three will make them pay for their crimes,” said Maharaj.
Mteki, Ngongi and Abdullah stood trial for the February 2016 murder of Singh in her secure complex in Musgrave.
Another suspect, only known as Kenny Osita Oriki, is also believed to have been involved, but he cannot be traced.
Oriki is believed to have been informed of the diamonds, gold and foreign currencies that Singh had in her home, by Mteki, and the plan was then hatched to rob her.
After a few meetings, the men entered the gated Musgrave Gardens complex on February 29, 2016, and went to Singh’s unit just after her son, Yashmeir, left for work. The men entered Singh’s unit through a door left open by Mteki, who was then bound with tape to make it appear as though she was a victim.
The men entered Singh’s bedroom, and she was later found dead on her bedroom floor with duct tape around her face. Her hands and legs were bound with cable ties.
In his judgment, Laing said
cellphone records indicated that there was a relationship between the three accused.
Laing said the evidence provided by the cybercrime unit from Pretoria placed the accused at the location of the home at the time the offence was committed, as well as at locations where meetings were held to discuss the plans for the robbery, before it was committed.
“In respect of the robbery, all three are co-perpetrators, all three participated in the crime. Accused one (Mteki) opened the door, she fully participated in the robbery,” said Laing.
He said there was no reason to disbelieve Mteki when she said the plan was not to kill Singh. “Facts show that accused one was not party to, nor did she contemplate, murder,” he said.
Laing said Singh was 57 years old and would easily have been overpowered by Ngongi and Abdullah, and in their haste to fasten tape to Singh’s mouth and nasal passages she suffocated.
The three will be sentenced on September 27 and have been remanded in custody.