Affair singled out as possible motive for Durban businessman's murder, court hears

An alleged love affair has been cited as the possible motive for the murder of Durban businessman Shailen Singh, 32, who was accused of being in a relationship with one of the two suspects' girlfriends.

Singh was gunned down while sitting in the driver's seat of his Toyota Hilux bakkie at a parking bay in Meridian Drive, the upmarket suburb of Umhlanga, on December 29.

Pro Secure CEO Ferrel Govender and his brother Darren face murder charges for the killing.

The state alleges the murder had been premeditated.

This was contained in a lengthy affidavit read in court by prosecutor Nkululeko Msiya on Wednesday.

Singh's wife Timmika told investigating officer W/O Kumarasan Pillay that Ferrel had accused her husband of having an affair with his girlfriend.

Timmika also reveals that Singh had received several threatening calls from Ferrel.

“He [Ferrel] had threatened to shoot Singh and several of his family members at the house,” said Msiya as he read out the affidavit.

Singh's father also confirmed the threats.

On November 13, it is alleged Ferrel had also threatened to kill the girlfriend and Singh execution-style.

Msiya said the state was opposing bail for the two siblings.

Cellphone records revealed that Singh was contacted twice by Ferrel via a WhatsApp call.

The records also show that Ferrel had called his brother Darren about 11am on the same day.

Msiya said the state had obtained video footage from a business close to the crime scene, which shows Singh driving his branded Toyota Hilux through the car park at 11.50am.

At about 11.55am, a black BMW SUV driven by Ferrel moves into a parking bay at 39 Meridian Drive and heads in the direction where Singh had parked his vehicle. Ferrel is seen driving alone.

At 11.57am, a Ford Ranger driven by Darren swings by to what would later become a crime scene.

“The evidence from other footage has also been seized. It was determined that the black Ford Ranger parked one bay away from the victim's vehicle and it was not in a parking bay, instead parking in a driveway,” said Msiya.

An eyewitness also told police they noticed a white Toyota Hilux which was parked in reverse, with the black Ford Ranger parked next to the Hilux with parking bay spaces between the two vehicles.

“The witness described the shooter as being a baldheaded and clean-shaven Indian male. He had a little tummy and was stocky in build. The second Indian man was dressed in black and was medium in complexion. The camera footage also shows the two vehicles fleeing. The CCTV footage also shows the BMW and a Ford ranger exiting the parking lot at 12.06pm,” said Msiya.

Investigations revealed that the Ford Ranger belonged to Pro Secure while the BMW belonged to another company, which at the time had leased the car to Pro Secure.

Further investigations had led to Pillay tracing the whereabouts of the Govenders on December 31.

It was established about 4pm on the day how Ferrel, who resided in Umhlanga, had packed his bags with four pairs of jeans, six T-shirts, underwear and toiletries and gone to an unknown location at 14.30pm.

This information came from his domestic helper, who said Ferrel had left in his G Wagon.

“She [domestic worker] had also said the siblings had been at home about 12.30pm on the day of the murder and had eaten Nando’s for lunch. This is consistent with the applicants' cellphone records,” said Msiya.

Undeterred, Pillay had tried to contact Ferrel, whose cellphone was off. His wife, who was also contacted, told Pillay she did not know his whereabouts.

He met with a similar fate when he visited Darren's home in Morningside. After obtaining Darren's cellphone number, he called him. “Darren had told Pillay he was in Johannesburg and threatened Pillay,” said Msiya.

Darren had given contact details of his attorney, whom he identified as Ravindra Maniklall, who later agreed that his client would be interviewed at the Durban North police cells.

Msiya said the state is opposing bail as it feared for the safety of the witnesses because they are well-known to the two siblings and could be easily traced and eliminated.

Msiya said the pair had failed to present the court with any exceptional circumstances warranting their release on bail and added the interests of justice do not favour the release of the pair on bail.

The bail application has been adjourned to Friday.