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Durban – The former commander of the Mountain Rise police station, Hariram Badul, arranged jobs for an employee’s brother and nephew for R15 000 and a cow, the Pietermaritzburg High Court heard on Tuesday.
Msingaphansi Bhengu, an accomplice who has turned State witness, was testifying against Badul, former police captain Suresh Naraindath, former police superintendent Yunus Khan, police constable Patrick Nkabini and businessman Sigamoney Pillay.
They face 98 charges, ranging from fraud and racketeering to theft and corruption, all allegedly committed between 2007 and 2009.
Bhengu was employed as a labourer at the station.
He told the court that Badul wanted R10 000 each for hiring his brother and nephew, but had settled for R15 000 and a cow, which Bhengu delivered to Badul’s farm in Bishopstowe.
Bhengu told the court of various items, some from the station, that he took to Badul’s farm on different occasions. These included cleaning materials such as soap, air fresheners, steel wool, mops and brooms.
At one stage he took pots, light bulbs and boxes of shoes from the station, and later a battery charger, vacuum cleaner and high-pressure cleaner.
On another occasion, Stanley Naidoo, a policeman who has turned State witness, gave him an order form which he took to Natal Agri and collected five bags of 20kg fertiliser, three of which he dropped off at the farm.
Bhengu at one point also collected a lawnmower and grass cutters from a company and delivered that to Badul’s farm. Money was also deposited in his bank account for Badul.
Naidoo and Bhengu are to be granted indemnity from prosecution at the end of the trial, provided the court is satisfied with their testimony.
The Mercury
