Incensed by interracial marriage, they bludgeoned man to death

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Durban - Marrying an Indian woman cost a Durban man his life. Now, two racist friends who so resented the interracial relationship that they bludgeoned Ernest Mzo Nkonyane to death - and assaulted his brother-in-law, Jeremiah Naidoo - have been sent to prison for 15 years. Nkonyane was attacked and killed as his wife and children watched in horror. The Durban Magistrate’s Court fell silent as the heavy sentences were handed down last week. Moments later, family and friends of the two Welbedacht men broke down.

But it was Mark Somaru, 33, a workshop supervisor, who wept the loudest. He embraced his wife for the last time, repeatedly shouting, “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.”

His friend and new prison-mate, Zain Marimuthu, 26, looked nonchalant.

Magistrate Anand Maharaj said the sentencing was meant to send a message to the public.

He said apart from the killing of Nkonyane on February 21, 2015, his greatest concern was the amount of racism involved.

For someone to die because of the colour of his skin should not happen, he said.

Nkonyane had been in a relationship with Fiona Naidoo for 15 years and had three children - two girls aged 10 and 8 and a 5-year-old boy.

According to evidence, Somaru and Marimuthu had held a long-standing resentment towards Nkonyane because of this.

In a statement, Jeremiah Naidoo, 19, recalled the day the murder took place.

He said he was walking up Welbedacht Road at about 8.30am when Somaru and Marimuthu began to taunt him.

Naidoo continued walking.

“They began to hit me on my face and told me to call my brother-in-law Mzo. They threatened to push me and Mzo up (a derogatory term referring to his mother),” he said.

“I then saw Mzo and told him what had happened. At this time, Zain came to us and grabbed me. Mzo intervened. Zain began to hit Mzo.

"Mzo then began to break the windows of Mark’s car. I ran home and informed my sister who went to see what was happening. After a short while, my sister came back and told us that Mzo had died.”

According to the post-mortem conducted by Dr Diagasen Pillay, Nkonyane suffered a fractured skull with a contusion to the brain, excessive blood loss and multiple rib fractures.

The cause of death was due to a head injury and a blunt force chest injury.

A psycho-social report on Somaru, conducted by social worker Ayanda Precious Mkhabela, found that while he was a first-time offender and pleaded not guilty, the crime committed appeared to be intentional and deliberate, considering the brutal manner in which it was committed.

Her findings were made after interviewing Somaru, his wife and brother-in-law, as well as the deceased’s wife and brother-in-law.

The social worker also interviewed Fiona Naidoo, who told her the death had had a huge impact on her life.

Mkhabela said Fiona believes Somaru was not remorseful, because on the day of the incident, when her husband was lying on the floor bleeding, he came up to her and said: “I’ve killed this k*****, now go find yourself another one.”

Fiona, who declined a POST request to be interviewed, said in a statement before court that she and her children had witnessed the attack.

“We are going through a lot. We can’t stop thinking of that day. My son was only 3 and he watched everything.

"Now I’m being called to school because he has become very violent with other kids. They want me to take him for some kind of treatment but I can’t afford it,” she said.

“My daughter, who was 6 at the time, hides under the bed every time she sees the police. It is sad to see my kids like this.”

Fiona also gets flashbacks of the brutal murder, making it difficult to cope.

She said that being unemployed, it was tough paying for school fees, utilities bills and food. “I do washing and housework for people just to put food on the table.”

The magistrate said South Africa has one of the highest murder rates in the world, with racism-sparked violence on the increase.

“The right to live has been violated and the loss of life is incredibly tragic to the family. Looking at the evidence before me, there has been a lot of pain involved. The court has to send a message that these types of crimes cannot take place.”

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