Durban - Richards Bay man Keegan Govender was 17 when he killed his girlfriend’s neighbour and dumped the body in a crocodile-infested river.
Two years on, he is yet to show remorse or admit his guilt, and this played a significant role in the 17-year sentence he was handed in the Durban High Court on Tuesday.
Govender and his girlfriend, Michelle Nadasen, 24, were charged with the murder of Gansen Gounden in 2010.
Nadasen pleaded guilty to the crime and was jailed for 25 years.
In her plea, she claimed Gounden had molested her and she had told Govender about this.
She said she played a limited role in the murder, but that Govender was the mastermind.
Nadasen lured Gounden to her house and Govender assaulted him and buried him in the backyard.
Govender later exhumed the body and dumped it in the crocodile-infested Nseleni River. Only the upper part of Gounden’s body was recovered from the river.
He was identified by his tattoos.
During his trial, Govender denied that he had killed Gounden, but claimed he had transported a bin unaware that it contained Gounden’s body.
On Tuesday, Judge Mohini Murugasen found that, despite his youthful age, Govender, now 19, had to be jailed.
“He was young, but not so youthful or ignorant that he could not appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct,” the judge said.
She added that the murder had seriously affected the Brackenham community in Richards Bay. - The Mercury