Durban — On Thursday a Clairwood businessman pleaded guilty to the culpable homicide of a security guard who was bound, beaten with weapons and poisoned.
Sagren Mariah was sentenced to 10 years wholly suspended for five years, this follows a plea agreement with the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
Loyisa Rasta Mbidana died at Prince Mshiyeni hospital a day after being admitted in September 2021, his post-mortem report found that cause of his death was consistent with poisoning and blunt force trauma and internal bleeding.
In his plea Mariah admitted to “viciously assaulting Loyiso all over his body with a sjambok for approximately and hour”.
Mbidana had been a security guard who was stationed at different sites at times including the trucking business premises belonging to Mariah, he was accused of stealing copper cable.
“This court is satisfied that the plea agreement meets all the requirements in accordance with the Criminal Procedure Act (CPA). The court accordingly finds the accused guilty as charged, the court is also satisfied in the sentence agreement as set out in the plea agreement. In those circumstance this court sentences the accused to ten years wholly suspended for five years provided that the accused is not found guilty of similar offence in the his period,” Judge Bruce Bedderson.
While Mbidana’s post-mortem report confirms that he was poisoned there was no evidence available as to where, when, and who administered the poison as there’s no witness to that effect.
Mariah had been previously charged along with security company inspectors Tyson Naganna, 32, and Romalen Govender, 29.
Last year Govender was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment while this year Naganna was sentenced to four years, three of which are wholly suspended.
Mariah was denied bail a month after Mbidana’s death and spent 18 months in custody before being released following a bail application on new facts.
In the case, following complaints of copper theft at sites where Mbidana was stationed including Mariah’s business he was brought to the accused’s business premises in the evening.
After denying stealing the cable, he was beaten with weapons including a baseball bat by Naganna and Govender.
He was kept at the premises over night and in the morning when Mariah arrived he too confronted him and became angered by his denial and whipped him with a sjambok.
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