Africa-Press – South-Africa. Four of the five people arrested in connection with the murder of Mangosuthu University of Technology (MUT) electrical engineering lecturer, Chanlall Dwarika, 61, have abandoned their requests for bail.
Sihle Mkhize, 25, Siyabonga Maye, 35, Kwanele Makhaye, 29, Sandile Mkhize, 43, and Thobani Mhlongo, 23, made a brief appearance in the Durban Regional Court on Tuesday.
Sihle Mkhize and Maye were the first to be charged in connection with the murder.
They made their first court appearance on Monday, 5 June.
The matter was then adjourned until Tuesday, pending the arrests of Sandile Mkhize, Makhaye and Mhlongo.
The accused, with the exception of Sandile Mkhize, have been charged with theft, kidnapping and the murder of Dwarika.
The four were seen on CCTV footage as they forced Dwarika into his Honda SUV and then sped off.
On Tuesday, the prosecutor, Calvin Govender, repeated the State’s allegations that the four assaulted Dwarika, choked him, and then slit his throat.
He said that, before committing the murder, the accused allegedly drove Dwarika in his own vehicle, forced him to withdraw cash, and then robbed him of his cellphone.
Sandile Mkhize has been charged with defeating/obstructing the course of justice.
Govender said:
Dwarika was last seen alive on 28 May.
He had been conducting repair work at a property he rented out, in Sea Cow Lake, Durban, when he was attacked.
His body was discovered in a bush near Mafuya Road, in Inanda, on 3 June.
The accused are all represented by legal aid.
Govender called for a remand of seven days, telling the court that “investigations were still at a sensitive stage”.
Sandile Mkhize was the only one who applied for bail, but this was opposed by the State.
Accordingly, the matter was postponed until 20 June for his bail application.
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