Durban - A 71-year-old oThongathi father on Monday wept as he told the Durban High Court of his family’s suffering since his daughter’s murder.
Krishna Pillay was testifying during arguments for sentencing of 39-year-old Loganathan Naicker, also of oThongathi, who was convicted in January of conspiring to kill Pillay’s daughter, Jennifer, who was also Naicker’s girlfriend.
“My wife had a stroke the day Logan was arrested. We trusted him like a son. My wife spent two weeks in hospital and she still has not fully recovered. Her speech isn’t quite right, and she walks with a walking stick.
“She cries daily for her child. I’ve since lost my kidney and gall bladder with all the stress,” said the father of 10.
He also testified that Jennifer, 29, was one of seven daughters. Three of his children have since died. He said he and his wife comforted each other daily.
In May 2008, Naicker, a former security company supervisor, decided Jennifer had to be killed, and approached two men, Sandile Ncube and Mbongeni Mbatha, to carry out his plan for a cash reward.
They had accosted Jennifer at her home in Ottawa, near Verulam, on May 21, 2008, and drove away with her in her Toyota Tazz.
They took her to sugar cane fields nearby, where she was shot dead. The vehicle was later found abandoned. Her body was found the next day.
Ncube had turned State witness and Mbatha had since died.
Pillay told the court his family had previously never experienced any problems with Naicker, and said he even helped the family search for Jennifer when she went missing.
He also said Jennifer’s son was eight at the time of his mother’s death, and now lived with his father.
Naicker has three children. His sixteen-year-old daughter lived with his mother in oThongathi, and both were in court on Monday.
His lawyer, Deena Govender, argued the murder was not premeditated and told the court that the minimum prescribed sentence of life was not appropriate in these circumstances.
State advocate Noxolo Dube argued for a life sentence, saying the murder was planned and premeditated.
She also asked the court to consider the effect Jennifer’s death had on her family.
“A child is without his mother, and the deceased’s mother is ill. The family felt betrayed by (Naicker). There was not a word in terms of an apology. There was no sign of remorse. He doesn’t deserve mercy from this court. He could have ended the relationship without having her killed,” she said.
Dube also argued Naicker was too much of a coward to kill Jennifer himself, so he had to hire other people to do it.