-
The court found that Thobani Mhlongo and Kwanele Makhaye kidnapped Dwarika in 2023.
The murderers of Mangosuthu University of Technology lecturer Chanlall ‘Shan’ Dwarika have been sentenced to life imprisonment by the Durban High Court.
The court found that Thobani Mhlongo and Kwanele Makhaye kidnapped Dwarika in 2023 and took him to bushes at Inanda, north of Durban, where he was killed.
His body was found a week later.
Their accomplice, Siyabonga Mahaye, left them before the murder and was found guilty of kidnapping and robbery.
The court heard that Dwarika was kidnapped two days after he evicted the three men from a house in Sea Cow Lake that he was renovating.
He initially let them live there to prevent the theft of building material, but the theft continued.
KwaZulu-Natal NPA Spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara, says the accused will receive life sentence for each murder.
“The men were sentenced as follows: Mhlongo and Makhaye were sentenced to five years imprisonment each for kidnapping, 15 years imprisonment each for robbery with aggravating circumstances, and life imprisonment each for murder. They will serve life imprisonment effectively. Mahaye was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment for kidnapping and 15 years’ imprisonment for robbery with aggravating circumstances. The court ordered that the sentences run consecutively, resulting in an effective 20-year sentence,” says Ramkisson-Kara.
