Justice delayed: widow waits seven years for trial in police torture case

Seven years after Regan Naidoo died from torture in Chatsworth police custody, his widow and children continue to wait for justice as the trial of 14 police officers faces yet another delay.

'The wheels of justice turn too slowly,' said Shanice Naidoo, who was pregnant when her husband was killed.

The trial of 14 police officers charged with Regan Naidoo’s murder was due to start in the Durban Magistrate’s Court last week, but was postponed again due to delays from the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP).

Naidoo, 32, a security technician, who was allegedly killed while in custody at the Chatsworth police station holding cells.

He was detained at the station on August 28, 2018, for questioning regarding the sale of a firearm which had been used in a murder of an alleged hitman from Umlazi, Xolani Zungu.

Zungu was shot dead in Chatsworth on August 23, 2018.

The morning after his arrest, police told Naidoo’s father that he had choked on a pie and had died in the holding cells. However, Naidoo had sustained multiple injuries, including bruising, multiple fractured ribs, lung bruising and haemorrhaging.

A post mortem conducted by private pathologist Reggie Perumal, revealed that Naidoo had died from multiple fractures and blunt force injury to the head, and not due to choking from his food. 

In September, a leaked audio recording of a consultation between the State and witnesses had led to the postponement of the trial. 

Defence attorneys for the 14 accused officers jointly requested a postponement at the Durban Magistrate’s Court after the audio recording surfaced.

The postponement was granted by the court after defence lawyers Christo Swart, Shane Matthews, Avir Maharaj and Carl van der Merwe jointly requested time for the audio recording to be transcribed and investigated.

Swart said the recording indicated “serious irregularities” while Matthews described the recording as “unethical”.

He said the defence team had reported the recording to the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) national director Shamila Batohi after the KZN Director of Public Prosecutions (KZN DPP) refused to consider the matter.

Maharaj said an investigation into the recording could render the trial unfair.

Last week, the trial was once again postponed after Batohi referred the matter back to the KZN DPP.

The case was postponed to next year, pending the ruling from the KZN DPP.

Initially, 22 police officers were charged for murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, torture and defeating the course of justice.

One of the accused, Sergeant Riyadh Adams, was killed in a shootout while responding to a robbery at the Pavilion Mall in 2023.

The State withdrew charges against seven other accused: Christopher Kisten, Irindran Maistry, Ralph Ogle, Mlamhli Nthuthuka, Eric Morajane, Sihle Ngidi, and Brigadier (now Major General) Kevin Christopher James, who was the station commander of the Chatsworth police station at the time of Naidoo’s death.

The 14 police officers who await the start of their trial are: Pushpanthan Pillay (48), Malcolm Naicker (39), Brian Naidoo (63), Trevor Chetty (44), Andries Botes (46), Erik Karsen (39), Muhammed Raoof (52), Preshan Lutchman (30), Cedric Pillay (36), Xolani Sosibo (34), Kubendran Kisten (39), Rajan Sanders (47), Devendra Chetty (49) and Ugeshan Govender (39).

"Wheels of justice turn too slowly"

Naidoo’s widow, Shanice Naidoo, who was pregnant at the time of Naidoo’s death, said she stopped attending court because of the ongoing delays and postponements.

She said the past seven years had been a nightmare filled with grief, sorrow and trauma.

“The wheels of justice turn too slowly. After seven years, we are told to wait again. The disappointment is overwhelming.

“The death of my husband has left a wound in my life and in the lives of my children that words can barely express. My children have been forced to grow up faster than they should, carrying questions no child should ever ask and pain no child should ever bear.

“I have had to become both mother and father, holding their grief while trying to navigate my own. My daughter, who is now 13 years  old, carries memories no child should ever have.

“She was only six years old at the time of Regan’s death. She watched her father being assaulted and dragged away from our home by police in handcuffs, and taken from us forever.

“Her final image of him is one of brutality and pain. It was not a loving goodbye or a warm embrace. She was left with memories of violence and confusion. To this day, she battles trauma and anxiety. She is a child who should be carefree, yet she carries a weight far heavier than her years,” she added.

Shanice said her son, who was born three months after Regan’s murder, constantly questioned her about his dad, and why he had never seen him.

“My son is now seven years old, and he faces a different kind of pain – one of never meeting his dad or having memories of him. He asked me who had killed his father and why?

“He keeps a picture of his dad in his school bag. Children need their father’s for love and protection and my children will never have that. They deserve justice as much as Regan,” Shanice said.

Naidoo’s mother, Cookie Naidoo, 59, said their family had attended every court appearance over the past seven years, and they were disappointed with the postponement of the trial.

“It is heartbreaking to come this far and still find that there are delays. We have to go into another year hoping for justice. 

“We have come too far for those responsible for my son’s death to walk free. We will walk the slow path to justice, no matter how long it takes,” she said.

Naidoo’s father Timothy, 63, said he was pleased with the manner in which the State had handled the case, but he too was disappointed with the ongoing postponements.

“I will not rest until my son’s killers get the sentences they deserve. I have fought to hold those responsible accountable from day one, and I will not stop fighting until justice is served,” he said.

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