The dock remained empty at the Durban High Court as the convicted killers of Rakeshchand Shane Ganesh refused to attend proceedings and remained in the holding cells in court. Pictured is the Ganesh family.
Image: Nomonde Zondi
TWO men were sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Rakeshchand Shane Ganesh at the Durban High Court, amidst dramatic courtroom proceedings.
The convicted men, Sihle Zondi and Hloniphani Mzila, refused to leave the court holding cells to attend the sentencing proceedings.
Their refusal prompted Judge Mahendra Chetty to invoke Section 159 of the Criminal Procedure Act, allowing the court to proceed without their presence.
The matter had been postponed on Monday to allow their lawyers to explain the court processes, which the legal team confirmed they had done through lengthy consultations.
Ganesh, who was housesitting for his cousin Mandy Kunigan at Umhlanga, was assaulted and strangled to death by Mzila and Zondi. The assault and strangulation occurred after Ganesh called a meeting and demanded that Mzila and his girlfriend pay R750 in rent. This was after he discovered that Mbanjwa, who lived in the granny cottage for free, was cohabiting with Mzila.
Before the sentence was handed down, Advocate Phumelele Daniso, representing Zondi, stated that he had no instructions for mitigation of sentence, unequivocally telling the court: “I will not argue the point of remorse, it's totally out.”
Nkululeko Cele, Mzila’s lawyer, requested a deviation from the minimum sentence, suggesting 15 years for murder and five years for robbery, citing his client's three minor children as dependents. Cele then shocked the courtroom when he stated that the injuries Ganesh sustained were not serious.
“I submit that the deceased’s death was not that gruesome. Strangulation is not the most painful death,” Cele told the court.
He further argued that the minimum sentence should be deviated from because Ganesh’s body was found intact, not mutilated or discarded. He dismissed the body’s decomposition as an aggravating factor.
“Decomposition is part of a natural process when somebody dies. It should not be considered an aggravating factor because its gruesomeness is caused by nature.”
Cele also defended his client’s refusal to attend court proceedings, claiming that Zondi has a right to protest and a right to freedom of expression.
Daniso quickly distanced himself, stating he was not in alignment with Cele’s submissions.
State prosecutor Advocate Denardo Macdonald dismissed the proposed 15-year sentence as ridiculous.
He highlighted that Ganesh left behind two children and described the attack as brazen.
Macdonald urged the court not to deviate from the minimum sentence of life imprisonment, arguing that the accused had no compelling circumstances to warrant a lesser sentence.
He stressed that Zondi and Mzila had ample time to kill Ganesh and intended for his body to remain undiscovered, regarding the decomposition as an aggravating factor.
As Judge Chetty prepared to deliver his ruling, Zondi and Mzila unexpectedly changed their minds and entered the dock, demanding to be told what their lawyers had said in their absence.
Zondi further claimed he didn’t understand his conviction, stating that the judge had previously said they were innocent.
Despite refusing to sit and making continuous demands, Judge Chetty refused to entertain their tantrums and proceeded with the ruling.
The duo ultimately chose to return to the holding cells.
Judge Chetty sentenced the duo to life imprisonment each for the murder and 15 years each for robbery with aggravating circumstances. The sentences will run concurrently.
Judge Chetty remarked that Cele's submission showed a lack of respect for Ganesh and his family.
Outside the court, the Ganesh family was overcome with emotion. Vashika Ganesh, the victim’s ex-wife and mother of his children, described the moment as bittersweet but expressed satisfaction with the sentence.
“They displayed no remorse for the life they took. My children will live without a father forever,” she said, criticising Cele's remarks as awful.