The Durban High Court has sentenced Siviwe Magugu, 37, to life and 15 years imprisonment for the murder and robbery of Rajanee Devi Rueben Murray, who was killed at her home in Lawnhaven, in September 2022.
The 67-year-old deceased lived with her son in the Foresthaven area in Phoenix, where Magugu was employed on a casual basis to assist with gardening as well as odd jobs around her house. According to NPA regional spokesperson, Natasha Ramkisson-Kara, on 9 September 2022, Magugu reported to work, and at some point, he strangled the elderly woman before stealing her belongings including cash, a cellphone, a TV, a sound system, and jewellery.
She said that in court, Adv Gugu Xulu led the testimony of a Section 204 witness, as well as circumstantial evidence. Xulu also submitted victim impact statements compiled by the deceased’s children and facilitated by court preparation officer Thandeka Nadi Mofokeng.
“In their statements, both men spoke of the trauma that they experienced following their mother’s death. They said that their lives have been drastically changed. They described their mother as the heartbeat of their family,” said Ramkisson-Kara.
Magugu was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder and 15 years imprisonment for robbery with aggravating circumstances. The sentences will run concurrently, and Magugu was declared unfit to possess a firearm.
“The NPA commends the work done by the prosecution and other stakeholders in securing this conviction. We hope that sentences of this nature will deter like-minded individuals,” said Ramkisson-Kara.
Councillor Moulana Mohamed Tariq, who assisted the family after the incident, told the Phoenix Tabloid that he welcomes the life sentence of Magugu. “This incident brought shock to the community of Phoenix. Many role players got together to assist with this investigation and I would like to commend every role player who assisted in giving the family closure. We need more SAPS investigators who work on cases and make sure that convictions are brought through,” said Moulana Tariq.
He added that through this incident residents can now have faith in the justice system, “even with the extensive crime challenges that Phoenix faces”.
In an official statement from Phoenix SAPS at the time of the incident, former Phoenix SAPS, communications officer, Captain Louise Naidoo, said that on Friday, 9 September, at 6.30pm Vickvanth (Vicky) Rueben Murray arrived at his residence in Lawnhaven Avenue to notice that the lights were off. She said upon opening the gate and going up the driveway, he also noticed the dog sitting outside and found the kitchen door as well as the gate were left wide open.
“Murray noticed that the door to the adjacent wooden wendy house also opened. He then went into the house and turned on the lights. As he walked into the passage, he saw his mother, Rajanee Devi Rueben Murray, 67, lying on the floor in the third bedroom with her back against some items. A blanket was covering her head and part of her body. He removed the blanket and found that his mother’s face was covered with a black material that went around her neck. He found her unresponsive,” said Cpt Naidoo.
She added that Murray then went out of the house to get assistance from the neighbours and not long after that, a police vehicle that was going past was flagged by the people of the area.
“All relevant role-players thereafter arrived at the scene. A random check was done with Murray and the police, it was established that the television and a Samsung cellphone were taken. Follow-up was done on a possible suspect. The neighbour saw a black male at 11.30am walking out from the residents with a television and some items. Security footage was gathered from the nearby resident of a black male walking with an item wrapped in a white cloth. He was carrying it on the top of his head,” said Cpt Naidoo
