Guard warned slain doctor of death plot

Slain Pietermaritzburg doctor Bhavish Sewram was warned his life was in danger mere months before he was shot dead.

|||

Durban - Slain Pietermaritzburg doctor Bhavish Sewram was warned his life was in danger mere months before he was shot dead outside his surgery in Chota Motala Road in May 2013.

This was revealed at the Pietermaritzburg High Court on Monday at the trial of KwaZulu-Natal businessman Rajiv Soni, who is charged with Sewram’s murder.

Testifying on Monday, Professor Mlungisi Sithebe told the court Soni had offered him R100 000 to kill Sewram, but instead of taking the doctor’s life, he went to Sewram and laid bare the plot against his life.

Sewram in turn, informed Sithebe that Soni was his former friend, who had previously hired two men to assault him and shoot him with “rubber bullets”.

When Sewram asked Sithebe why he had chosen to tell him of the hit on his life rather than shoot him, Sithebe said: “I am not a killer, I am a Christian.”

Explaining how Soni came to approach him to kill Sewram, Sithebe said he was employed at Envirowatch as a security manager. At that time, Soni employed security guards from Envirowatch to guard his business premises in Mkondeni.

“That is how I met him,” Sithebe said.

Subsequently, Soni terminated his contract with Envirowatch. Sithebe said he later met Soni in the parking lot at Victoria Centre, where Soni asked him for his contact numbers as he had something to discuss with him. This was in February or March.

Two weeks passed before Soni contacted him and asked to meet. Soni met Sithebe at his home and the two drove off in Soni’s white Mercedes-Benz.

Soni told Sithebe that he wanted to rehire Envirowatch as his business security, with one day guard and one night guard. Soni then told him that aside from that, he had another job he wanted Sithebe to do.

“He told me if I performed this task, I would be paid R100 000. He told me there was a doctor who injected his child with something and now his child was paralysed. He said he wants this doctor to be scared and shaken up.

“I did not believe him and asked him why he wanted this doctor to be injured, and he said this doctor was involved in a relationship with his wife,” Sithebe said.

The next day, Soni picked up Sithebe again and drove him to Boshoff Street and to Northdale, where he pointed out both of Sewram’s medical practices.

“Soni told me he wanted me to shoot the doctor on his thigh. I was somewhat startled as I had never done anything like that before. He told me the times the doctor arrived at his surgeries. At that stage, Soni started talking of the doctor being killed, and I became overwhelmed,” Sithebe said.

Sithebe said he asked Soni what would happen if they got caught shooting the doctor, to which Soni replied that he had “top-notch attorneys who would be able to get him off”.

Sithebe said he was torn, because at that stage he was preparing for his wedding and needed money, but when he compared the offer of R100 000 to spending the rest of his life in prison, he knew he was not going to kill the doctor.

Sithebe said he was loathe to contact the police with the information he had, because Soni had told him he was well-connected to police officers at Mountain Rise, Alexandra and Loop Street police stations.

“I called my office at Envirowatch and told them I had an issue with Soni. I explained the whole story to them, and told them Soni wanted me to shoot a doctor. They did not believe me, as they were profiting from Soni’s contract with them,” he said.

Sithebe admitted Soni had given him R3 000 to purchase a firearm to kill Sewram, which he never did.

Sithebe said he had also taken camera footage of Soni, pointing out Sewram’s surgeries to him, on his Blackberry cellphone. This phone was later confiscated by police.

The former Envirowatch employee decided to approach Sewram and tell him what Soni was plotting.

“I knew Soni was serious about killing this doctor,” he said.

After telling Sewram of the murder plot, Sewram reported the matter to a Durban police station, and Sithebe gave a statement regarding what he knew.

Subsequently, Soni called Sithebe to the Shakile’s building in Northdale, which Soni owned, and gave him R12 000 to kill Sewram, promising the rest of the money after he returned from an overseas trip.

“As the days progressed, I no longer answered Soni’s calls. I was afraid that if I gave a statement to police regarding Soni, my life would also be in danger,” Sithebe said, adding that he did eventually meet with police and gave a statement.

He said his last contact with Soni was when Soni contacted him to tell him he had found other people to do the job for him.

Under cross-examination, it was put to Sithebe by Soni’s advocate, Naren Sangham, that he had called Soni on two occasions on September 5 and 18 this year, claiming he was ”being forced to lie”.

Sithebe denied this and said Soni was lying.

Sangham also quoted from a statement by Sithebe’s former employer at Envirowatch, Alpheus Mkhwanazi, who claims Sithebe misappropriated money from the security company and was dismissed from his post as security manager. Sithebe denied the allegation.

The case continues.

Daily News