Broken dad vows to find son’s killer

“I will not rest and neither will I spare any cost to find the perpetrators. I will not leave a stone unturned. If it was me, my son would have done the same.”

This was the vow of devastated Durban father and businessman Dan Naidoo, 63, whose only son, John, 31, was shot dead in his Glenmore home in front of his wife, Mags, and 11-month-old daughter, Cara, during a robbery last week.

And in a further development, an Umbilo resident has invited People Against Gangsterism and Drug Abuse (Pagad) to open a branch in the suburb to tackle the rising crime and drug problem. Murder in the suburb increased by 25 percent from 12 to 16 in the latest crime statistics released this week by the Minister of Police, Nathi Mthethwa.

John Naidoo is one of thousands of South Africans who were murdered this year.

According to the police statistics, there were 15 509 murders in SA, 3 422 of these in KwaZulu-Natal in the April 2011 to March 2012 period. However, it is no comfort to the Naidoos that provincially murders dropped by 8.7 percent, while there was a 4 percent spike in house burglaries to more than 40 000.

SAPS spokesman colonel Jay Naicker said the suspects had invaded the house at about 8pm and robbed the family before shooting John, who was fumbling his attempt to open his safe.

Naidoo said his son had been seeing off his sister when he noticed four men in a car parked near his pedestrian gate. The men followed him back into the house and pointed a gun at him. One of the robbers took the couple to their bedroom where he ordered John to open the safe, while the others stole a flatscreen TV, a tablet PC, a laptop, jewellery and branded clothing.

“Six minutes changed our entire lives. Six minutes,” said Naidoo, who for the first time since the murder paid an emotional visit to his son’s office at the family logistics business this week.

“He will never come in here again,” Naidoo said, changing his son’s status to “out” on the appointment board. “His desk is just the way that he left it,” Naidoo said, sobbing.

“He ran the business like clockwork. He was too advanced for his age. He was sharp like a razor and wouldn’t just make a decision but would think clinically,” Naidoo said.

“There are so many families without fathers. It is a sin and a crime that the highest authorities in the country, from the president down, are too busy fighting their own battles while the country is burning. The government has lost control. I fought in the struggle,” said Naidoo, who has a framed photograph of Nelson Mandela in his office.

However, Naidoo praised the police saying they were doing an “excellent” job on the investigation.

“I have worked around the clock with various agencies. I have never stopped. I do not intend stopping until justice is done. I owe it to my son and his child and the community that the government is letting down. It is their duty to protect citizens but we have to go to extra measures,” Naidoo said.

Naicker said the SAPS Provincial Task Team was investigating a case of murder and house robbery and Naidoo has hired private investigator Nico Potgieter.

“We have every confidence that the Provincial Task Team, as with other investigations they have conducted in the past, they will make a breakthrough,” Naicker said.

Potgieter said he was conducting a parallel investigation. “It was an opportunistic crime. I think it was a house robbery gone wrong. It appears that they tried to break into the house across the road and when they saw him [John] walking back inside they saw an opportunity.”

Meanwhile, Umbilo Action Group founder Vanessa Burger said she had invited Pagad to open a branch in the Umbilo precinct. She said the organisation would lead residents – who were concerned about drugs and their link to other crimes – in protests outside the homes of drug dealers and outside court.

“I wanted to bring in an independent organisation that has knowledge, experience and moral integrity; who the people could rally behind because people are fearful and intimidated.

“They live in blocks of flats where drug dealers are resident and bringing in Pagad will give them a measure of security,” Burger said.

Pagad’s KZN chairman, Dr Anwar Jeewa, said the organisation intended expanding to all areas of the province with its “operation suffocation”.

“We want to put pressure on the merchants and dealers who are operating freely. Pagad wants to be a watchdog to find known dealers and give evidence to and put pressure on the police to do their job. We march to the dealers and name and shame them,” Jeewa said.

If you have any information that could assist the investigation please contact Nico Potgieter at 031 573 5482.

Independent on Saturday