Shan Govender was killed by an employee at his workplace during a dispute. His funeral was postponed on Saturday.
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ONE week after a Richards Bay man was killed in a murder-suicide at the Mondi Richards Bay Mill, his former wife and partner are locked in a court battle over his body, and if he should be given a Hindu or Christian funeral.
Shan Govender, 66, was killed after an employee shot him and injured another employee, before turning the gun on himself on April 8.
He was killed during an alleged dispute with the 54-year-old man who worked under him.
Govender was retired from Mondi, but was contracted to the company as a supervisor since his retirement in 2020 .
His funeral was due to be held on Saturday, but was postponed due to a high court battle between his partner of 14 years, Jean Naidoo, 59, and his former wife and children.
Govender’s eldest brother Lincs Govender said he travelled from Johannesburg to Richards Bay for his brother’s funeral, and he was shocked when he received a call from Naidoo, informing him that the funeral had been postponed.
“My brother was divorced years ago, and he had four children with his former wife. At the time, there were family issues as his children were upset about the divorce.
“They cut ties with him and did not want to have anything to do with him. My brother had lived with Jean for the past 14 years. He had accepted her as his wife, even though they were not legally married,” he said.
“Shan and Jean changed their religion from Hinduism to Christianity many years ago. They lived a Christian life. Even though we are Hindu, we respected that our brother had changed his religion, and we supported him.
“It was shocking when we heard that his children and former wife, who was estranged from him, stopped his funeral because they wanted to claim his body and give him a Hindu funeral,” Lincs claimed.
He said the family had to send out a notice on the day of the funeral, informing relatives and friends of the postponement.
“We are struggling to understand what led to this. From what I know, Shan’s children have brought an application in the Durban High Court to have his body released to them, as his next-of-kin.
“As I have confirmed, Jean is also his next-of-kin because she had lived with him for 14 years. She had to go to the Pietermaritzburg High Court to bring an urgent application to have Shan’s body released to her.
“It is embarrassing and messy. Due to both high court applications, we are in limbo as to when his funeral will be held. It is sad. I feel helpless as the eldest brother,” Lincs added.
He said he had appealed to Naidoo and Shan’s children to resolve the issue without getting the courts involved, so that his brother could be laid to rest.
“My proposal to them was to let Jean have a funeral for Shan at her home for two hours, and give him a Christian send-off, which we would attend.
“We advised Jean to then give Shan’s body to his children, for them to have a funeral for him. Jean asked if they could give her some of his ashes after cremation, so that she could put it into their family grave, but they refused.
“As his brother, it is sad that there is nothing I can do legally to resolve the issues. It is disgraceful to experience this. We have seen things like this in the movies, but never thought it would happen to us. We hope that both parties can come to a solution so that we can lay my brother to rest,” Lincs added.
Ray Govender, a close friend of Govender’s and ward councillor for the area, said he was disturbed by the matter.
He said it was shocking to see a family fighting for a deceased’s body at the mortuary, and continuing their fight in the courts.
“Shan was a pleasant and respectable person who had a passion for community work. He worked at Mondi permanently for many years, and he continued to work as a contractor after he retired.
“He would lend us his vehicles to deliver food and hot meals to those in need, and he donated to our feeding schemes.
“I am shocked and saddened by his death. I am assisting the family to try to come to an amicable solution which would be best for everyone. When the funeral date is confirmed, we will have police and security present to avoid further altercations,” he added.
KZN police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said police in Richards Bay had opened an inquest docket, as well as cases of murder and attempted murder following the workplace shooting involving three colleagues.
Mondi’s CEO Jason Smith said they were deeply saddened by the deaths of two of their employees, and confirmed that a third employee who was shot remained in hospital.
Smith said they were providing support to their employees and had taken the necessary steps to ensure the site remained safe.
Community leader Ivan Naidoo said the community was still reeling from the tragedy.
“For a community that prides itself on safety, it is such a tragedy that we are still faced with such violence and crime. It is a travesty of justice when an incident of such a violent nature occurs in a regulated environment.
“Equally painful is when individuals attempt to resolve issues through violence. It further underpins the necessity for employees to reach out, and participate in employee assistance programmes or labor mechanisms to resolve conflict.
“My heart goes out to these families. May God's grace be upon them,” Naidoo said.