Slow pace of justice frustrates road rage victim’s family
Delays in the trial of a Pietermaritzburg police officer who allegedly shot dead a young man in a 2014 road rage incident has left the victim’s family frustrated.
|||Durban - The trial of the policeman who allegedly shot dead young man in an alleged road rage incident in the Pietermaritzburg CBD in 2014 was delayed yet again on Wednesday - to the distress and frustration of the victim’s family.
Thobelani Khuzwayo, a sergeant at the Pietermaritzburg police station, is alleged to have shot Kavlin Naidoo, 27, in November 2014.
Naidoo died on November 22, after about ten days in a coma in an intensive care unit, and after undergoing several surgeries.
Khuzwayo, who is claiming self defence, appeared briefly in the Pietermaritzburg Regional Court on Wednesday, where the trial was expected to start.
However, it was again postponed due to the state experiencing “logistical difficulties”.
Prosecutor Bongani Mkhwebane told the court that there was effectively no prosecutor to deal with the case.
“The resident prosecutor in this particular court is on leave, and the relief prosecutor has taken ill. We only have 11 prosecutors on duty, who are all currently engaged with different matters. We are currently severely understaffed,” Mkhwebane said, adding that he himself was “heavily bur-dened” with administrative work.
Mkhwebane said it was unfortunate that the trial had to be delayed, but gave an assurance that the trial would proceed on the next available date.
The case was then adjourned to November 14.
Naidoo’s father, Dev Naidoo, said it was distressing that the trial had been postponed yet again.
“This is just dragging on for us now. We have no closure. Every time we are here and we come face to face with the man who killed our son, it stirs up our emotions. It is very difficult for us,” he said.
Naidoo, an IT engineer, was travelling along Loop Street with his fiancee and brother, when a man driving a red Toyota Auris cut in front of their car, blocking their way.
Naidoo allegedly jumped out of the car and walked up to the Auris. According to his fiancee, Sandhani Padayachee, Naidoo asked the driver what the problem was, when he was shot in the stomach.
Khuzwayo is alleged to have fled the scene, before handing himself over to police the next day.
Immediately after the shooting, Padayachee and Naidoo’s brother alerted emergency services, who tried to stabilise Naidoo before taking him to Grey’s Hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery.
He later died due to the severity of his injuries.
Khuzwayo is out on R2 000 bail.
Daily News