Durban - The N2 “Samaritan” driver shot and killed on Monday had received numerous warnings against picking up hitchhikers, until he paid the price of not listening with his life.
Raymond Naguru, 48, of Newlands West, had a habit of picking up passengers with the company vehicle that he drove.
According to Warrant Officer Manisha Maharaj-Marie, the communications officer at the Tongaat Police Station, a case of murder and attempted murder was being investigated.
She said Naguru was travelling on the N2 northbound with employees in a white Toyota Quantum panel van, carrying medical supplies, before stopping to give armed men pretending to be hitchhikers a lift at around 3pm.
“They stated that they were going to the airport. About 50m into the drive, one of the suspects who was seated at the back pulled out a firearm and screamed for all of them to get down. “The driver continued and two shots were fired, hitting the driver.
The driver then opened the door and fell out of the van. The van moved to the verge and stopped. The suspects then ran into the nearby sugar cane fields,” she said. Maharaj-Marie said that one of the employees was injured and was taken by paramedics for medical treatment.
Naguru, who sustained gunshot wounds to the stomach and right thigh, was declared dead at the scene. Witness Mahlakeni Ndyata, 48, who was also a passenger in the vehicle during the ordeal, said he was shocked by what happened. “I am still in awe about how I survived that shooting.
I have feelings of gratitude, confusion and anger,” he said. He said that when Naguru gave him a lift from Shaka’s Head on the Dolphin Coast, there were three others in the vehicle, the driver’s colleague and two other women. The two “shooters” joined them along the journey after hitchhiking for a ride. Ndyata said that he jumped out of the moving van at Ezingwenyeni, near Zimbali, to save his life.
“As we were travelling, the suspects who were seated at the back suddenly screamed for everyone to get down before firing shots. I ducked down and covered myself because they were shooting randomly in the vehicle. “Raymond continued to drive and he was shot at. The car slowed down and I managed to jump out and seek cover,” said Ndyata.
He said he was not robbed. Ndyata said he was in excruciating pain as he had injured his wrist and lost mobility in it, while he hurt his knee when he dived from the moving van.
Ndyata said that he had known Naguru for a long while and was a regular passenger of his, as he often transported him to work, in exchange for money. Naguru’s employer Namesh Govender, 49, described him as a good person. He said that the company had a strict policy which prevented employees from using the vehicles for personal use.
“No passengers are allowed in the company vehicle. Employees are aware of that. “He was warned many times that he must not pick up passengers,” said Govender. He said Naguru wanted to make extra money, and suspected that it was taxi bosses who were responsible for the shooting.
Naguru’s mother, Hafizah Richards, 67, said that she was still shocked by his death. “It really has not dawned on me that my one and only son is no more. I am still expecting to get a phone call from him checking up on me like he usually did.
“He called a thousand times a day to check up on me and tell me that he loves me. The thought of never hearing his voice again is unbearable,” she said. She described Naguru as someone who was lovable, helpful, respectful and minded his own business.
She said that she hoped that justice would prevail and the suspects get arrested. “I pray that the police do a thorough investigation and the people who took my son’s life are found and put in jail so that they do not take any more lives of innocent people,” said Richards. Naguru was laid to rest on Tuesday.
SUNDAY TRIBUNE