Anger as child killer granted day parole

Durban - Convicted child rapist and killer, Dhevapragasen (Dean) Munsamy, has been released on parole.

In 1995, Munsamy was convicted of the rape, murder, kidnapping and indecent assault of 10-year-old Natasha Sukdeo in Chatsworth.

Her battered body was found in a cut-out mattress in a cellar on the third day after going missing in 1995. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Despite pleas to the parole board by Natasha’s mother, Munsamy was given day parole, with the intention of full parole after six months.

Spokeswoman for the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Correctional Services, Nokuthula Zikhali, said Munsamy was allowed to leave at 6am and has to return by 6pm to the department’s day parole facility in Pietermaritzburg.

Zikhali said Munsamy was restricted to looking for a job in the Pietermaritzburg area only.

He would not be electronically tagged and would be monitored through a manual register system. If he failed to adhere to his parole conditions, it could be revoked.

Natasha’s mother, Sharon Jeenabhai, said she was living in fear of her life and that of her family. She said they had no idea what Munsamy looked like after all these years.

She is looking to challenge the parole in court.

“I don’t believe for a second that he is a changed man. I fear if he got the chance, he would hurt another child,” she said.

She said even if he passed her in the street, she would not recognise him.

Jeenabhai has been campaigning for two years to ensure Munsamy was denied parole. She said he had never apologised for his actions and the pain he had caused her family.

“I want to know if she (Natasha) cried for me. He must tell me what her last words were before he killed her,” an emotional Jeenabhai said on Monday night.

She said the past 18 years had been long and painful, and not a night went by when she did not think about the hell her child suffered before she was killed. Jeenabhai said there was no justice in Munsamy being released on parole.

Jeenabhai’s attorney, Simi Sharma, said she was in the process of making a court application to try and have the day parole rescinded.

“My client is really not taking the news well. Going to court is the last resort we have,” she said.

Childline SA spokeswoman, Joan van Niekerk, said the assessment process for granting parole needed to be refined.

She said prisoners who applied for parole should be assessed by more than one psychologist.

“The family has a right to feel safe and so does the community. This should not be compromised,” she said.

“In fact, in cases where people have been given a life sentence, it should remain just that because it is a result of the crime that they committed,” she said.

KZN Violence monitor, Mary de Haas, said: “It is highly unlikely that he will come out a better person.”

She said she felt that Munsamy’s release on parole was a “big mistake” and irresponsible.

“What happens if he runs? Who is thinking about all the people who are now terrified about his release. He committed a terrible crime and should pay for it in full. A life sentenced should be kept a life sentence,” she said.

The biggest concern for De Haas was that often parolees ended up committing the same offences once out.

“This decision is very dangerous and risky. I cannot begin to imagine how her mother is feeling. There is no justification for his release,” she said.

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