MUT lecturer’s killers sentenced to life in Durban court
Three
men convicted of kidnapping and murdering MUT lecturer Chanlall Dwarika have
been sentenced in the Durban High Court.
The 61-year-old was abducted in June 2023 outside a property he was renovating in Sea Cow Lake.
Dwarika had known his assailants as he had allowed them to stay at the house to guard the building material after it kept going missing.
He ejected them when the intervention did not stop the theft.
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On the day he was kidnapped, the lecturer was forced into the back of his car at knifepoint and driven to an ATM to withdraw money.
His body was found in a bush in Inanda a week later.
On Wednesday, Thobani Mhlongo and Kwanele Makhaye were found guilty of kidnapping, robbery, and murder in the Durban High Court.
Their co-accused, Siyabonga Mahaye, was convicted of kidnapping and robbery, while a fourth accused was acquitted.
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Mhlongo and Makhaye were sentenced on Thursday afternoon to life imprisonment for murder, while Mahaye received an effective 20-year term for kidnapping and robbery.
In their Victim Impact Statements, Dwarika's wife and daughter described him as a giving person who was a pillar of strength.
His daughter said losing her father left her with a deep sadness and grief.
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