Long jail terms for two killers

THE family of Premla Moodliar said they were grateful to the police and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) for ensuring their mother’s killers remain behind bars.

Moodliar, 72, who owned and lived alone in a building on Moses Kotane (Sparks) Road, was found dead in her flat by a maintenance worker in May 2020.

She was found with her hands tied behind her back with tape. Her mouth was also taped, and her home ransacked.

A month after the killing, members of the Provincial Investigation Unit arrested Bhekokhwake Penuel Magubane, 37, and Mandlakayise Bhapeni Gumede, 34.

Magubane who was arrested in Inanda, was found in possession of two wristwatches that belonged to Moodliar. Gumede was arrested in Overport. They were charged with robbery with aggravating circumstances and murder.

The accused went on trial in the Durban High Court and were sentenced on Wednesday.

Colonel Robert Netshiunda, a provincial police spokesperson, said Magubane was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder and 15 years for house robbery.

“Gumede was acquitted on a charge of murder. However, the court found him guilty of house robbery and sentenced him to an effective 18 years imprisonment.”

Moodliar was a retired deputy principal.

She had four children. Her late husband was the founder of RA Moodley Curry King and Queen Spice Shop at the Victoria Street Market.

Tamara Balliram, her daughter, said: “One would expect their parents to have a bedside death but in my mother’s case she was brutally murdered. Her hands and feet were bound. There was thick duct tape around her head.

“As a family we have not been able to shake that image off. From the time of her killing until the arrest of the accused we could not sleep thinking about what she went through in her last moments. This has all been very traumatic for us.”

Balliram said Moodliar was killed during level 5 of the lockdown.

“The last time I visited my mother and actually saw her was in March 2020. I am from Ballito and when lockdown was implemented I was not allowed to travel to Overport without a permit. Despite these challenges we spoke on video calls almost every day. March was the last time I got to hug or hold her.”

Balliram said her family was thankful to the police and the NPA for their work.

"People are always bad mouthing the police and our courts. It is only when you experience something like this, that you understand how much work goes into what they do and the amount of cases they are dealing with. We are satisfied with the sentencing. People must know that they do not have the power to take another person’s life.”

Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, the KZN provincial police commissioner, said: “We applaud the investigating team for the thorough investigations which connected the dots and positively linked the suspects to the crime scenes. We also appreciate the courts handing down hefty sentences.”