Phoenix residents protested outside the Verulam Magistrate’s Court, demanding justice in the murder case of a Phoenix husband and father who was brutally murdered at his Uppercroft, Phoenix, home allegedly by a relative.
Murder accused, Morgan Govender, 42, made a brief appearance in court as the trial began last week. Govender was previously given R3 000 bail. The family was not allowed inside the court room as they are witnesses to the murder case. Colin Subramoney, who was the sole breadwinner of the family, was killed in full view of his family on the evening of 11 September, following an alleged family dispute. The 53-year-old father of two was allegedly slammed against a window and violently thrown over a flight of concrete stairs, landing against a wall, and died instantly from impact. Medical reports confirmed that he suffered severe injuries, internal bleeding and broken bones. Speaking to The Phoenix Tabloid outside the Verulam Court, Colin’s wife, Roshnee Subramoney, said: “I’m here to make sure that justice for my husband’s cold-blooded murder is met. The past two months have been the hardest for us yet; we are still very traumatised. My son, daughter, grandson and I all sleep in one room because of what we saw that night and the callous manner in which he was taken away from us. I will not rest until justice prevails.”
Colin’s daughter, Jeanne Subramoney, wants the trial to be finalised as quickly as possible. “Our hearts break every single day while my father’s murderer is living his life as normal. The killer must not get anything less than a life sentence for taking away the life of a man who loved his family so dearly.” Phoenix resident, Bishop Jonathan Govender, said Colin did not deserve to die in the manner that he did. “We want to give the family our full support and want to ensure that justice is served so that his family can get closure.” The highly traumatised family has since sought assistance from the South African Outreach and Emergency Services. Director, Tootsie Francis, who heads up the flying wings which is a gender-based violence team, stated: “This was a heinous and callous killing to say the least. We have come on board to support the family as the murder has taken away their bread and butter and the family is struggling. Over and above that the manner in which the father was killed is literally haunting the family, I don’t understand how someone can murder another human being in that manner.”
“Where did that anger and rage come from? Is it the first time he’s done something like this? Too many murders are being dismissed lightly and for as long as the courts do not set a precedent, this will continue. We are hoping that the courts are going to do right by the family and the suspect gets a strong sentencing,” added Francis. Anisa Govender, who has been offering counselling to the family, told The Phoenix Tabloid that there’s not a day that goes by that the incident is not spoken about by the family. “The children talk about it constantly, at times they would wake up at 3 or 4am and call us to get that little bit of consolation. It is very traumatic for us as well because we were there just minutes after the incident took place where we saw the body of Colin on the ground after he had been flung. If it has affected us so much, what has it done to the family? This is going to be a very long drawn battle to get their mindset right because something that was seen is very difficult to forget,” said Govender.
The trial was adjourned to 12 January 2022. According to reports, the investigating officer for the murder case recently suffered a heart issue and will only be returning to work in January. Bishop Govender further stated: “I was told that there’s only two investigative officers for murder in Phoenix – one is in hospital and the other is in Pietermaritzburg. When we questioned about the post-mortem results, we were given the uphill there too. My question is: Why is SAPS not being transparent with us? This is not someone who stole a chappie from a shop and ran away, this is murder.” Phoenix Communications Officer, Captain Louise Naidoo said, “Progress with murder cases in Phoenix have been hampered by the fact that members of the Murder Unit were deployed to the provincial task team following the murders that took place during the July unrest. Currently, there are only two active members, and one is on medical leave, therefore Sergeant TT Ndonyela is the only member of the murder unit working on cases under already strained conditions.”
