[DEBATE] : (Fwd) Dbn police implement death penalty

[Patrick Bond]

(Hmmm. "...the officers were prompted to cuff his hands in front of him 
as they walked him up steep hills and uneven terrain to his house," said 
police Supt Jay Naicker... but an eyewitness seemed to see it 
differently: "Two policemen went inside Sandile's home while he was 
handcuffed")

The Mercury

Two killed in separate struggles with police
Sham suspects shot dead

September 15, 2008 Edition 1

jeff WICKS & GUGU MBONAMBI

TWO men arrested for the bloody slaying of Naren, Meera and Kavir Sham 
in their Stamford Hill, Durban, home two weeks ago were shot and killed 
by police yesterday.

The shootings happened in separate incidents in which the arrested men 
desperately turned on the police.

Both are believed to have been employees of the family.

Naren Sham was a well-known Durban attorney and businessman. His son was 
following him into the legal profession and was in his third year of law 
studies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

The elder Sham was recently involved in several cases. His wife was a 
former teacher.

Initial investigations suggested that the killers knew the layout and 
workings of the house and its security, including the easiest way to 
enter the property undetected.

It is believed men entered the property though a hole in a fence and 
accosted the family's domestic worker before forcing their way into the 
home.

Throats slit

The family were tied up and gagged before their throats were slit. The 
domestic worker was locked in another room and was not harmed. The 
bodies were found by Sham's son-in-law, Neeraj Ramnarain, who lives on 
the property with his wife, the Shams' daughter, Sandhya, and their 
children.

Police interviewed dozens of people connected to the family, including 
their former domestic worker.

Yesterday, Musa Qwabe and Ishmael Sandile Kinglock, both 28, were taken 
into custody in simultaneous operations in Umgeni Road and Umlazi.

While the two were being questioned, Kinglock agreed to show officers 
items taken from the Sham home.

"The man knew he had a gun in the home and it was clearly his plan to 
get hold of it and try and shoot his way out. He had been restrained 
with his hands cuffed behind his back. However, the officers were 
prompted to cuff his hands in front of him as they walked him up steep 
hills and uneven terrain to his house," said police Supt Jay Naicker.

Kinglock drew a firearm and opened fire on the officers as he pretended 
to hand over evidence to the men.

Naicker said Kinglock managed to fire two shots at officers before he 
was gunned down.

"We recovered the handgun as well as cash and other items that were 
taken from the Shams' home."

Just hours later, Qwabe was taken to the Sham house in Dulwich Road to 
conduct a "pointing out" - an exercise in which suspects are taken to 
the crime scene and are expected to walk police through the crime. It is 
alleged that while he was being escorted through the home, he tried to 
snatch an officer's firearm.

Grabbed

"During the pointing-out process, Qwabe grabbed hold of a firearm that 
was holstered on an officer's hip. There was a struggle for possession 
of the gun, but before Qwabe could pull it from the holster, another 
officer shot him."

"We think the man had just found out that his accomplice had been killed 
and the real magnitude of facing the charges alone had hit him. It may 
have just been his way of trying to commit suicide," Naicker added.

Contrary to initial reports that four men had perpetrated the murders, 
police now believe that only Kinglock and Qwabe were involved.

Family spokesman Anand Nepaul, an attorney, said the deaths of the two 
men were cold comfort to a family that had lost three of their loved 
ones. He described the manner in which the Shams had been killed as 
"brutal and barbaric", which showed the moral decay of society.

"The family would like to thank the investigating officers for their 
professional conduct and all their efforts.

"Everybody has been highly traumatised by this and what the officers did 
will ease the suffering.

"I would have preferred that the suspects had gone to trial. Their 
deaths leave unanswered questions - like why they killed the family and 
why so brutally," said Nepaul.

He said the two men were former employees of the Sham family. One had 
worked in their waste recycling business while the other had worked at 
their home and was the skipper of their boat.

A neighbour of Kinglock told how shots had rung out after officers had 
entered his home.

"Two policemen went inside Sandile's home while he was handcuffed and 
one remained outside. A few minutes later, I heard multiple gunshots," 
she said.

"After that more policemen and an ambulance arrived. They cordoned off 
the area and told us Sandile was dead."