It was a brutal murder that left residents shuddering. Rekha Govender (30) was found dead in her Browning Street home on July 2 2015. She had been stabbed, strangled and bound with an electrical cord.
Her murderer covered her body with a blanket before making off with a flat-screen TV, home theatre, three cellphones and a GPS navigator among other goods.
Following two manhunts, after one of the accused had escaped from custody in Dundee Prison, justice was finally done when Cassim Alijan (33) was jailed for 30 years. Regional Court Magistrate Nkosi sentenced him to 15 years for murder and 15 years for robbery with aggravating circumstances. Alijan pleaded guilty to the crime, absolving his two co-accused his brother, Mohamed Alijan (25) and girlfriend, Michelle Gaskin (30).
It was then that the scene became violent, resulting in an argument and Rekha’s brutal murder
In his statement to the Court, Alijan described how he called Rekha on her cellphone at about 6.50pm on the night of the murder. He was known to her as his girlfriend, Michelle, and Rekha were friends and Rekha gave her a lift to work daily.
Alijan wanted to borrow R50 from Rekha. She said he could come around.
According to Alijan, Rekha met him at the door with a glass of water and a knife and said he should leave or she would call Michelle. It was then that the scene became violent, resulting in an argument and Rekha’s brutal murder. Later, Alijan called Mohamed to ask him to help him remove the goods from the house.
They hid the goods in a bush opposite Dundee Secondary School and all three spent the night at Hlala Nathi guest house in town.
Her body was found the next day and a manhunt was launched, headed by Detective Warrant Officers Nkabini, Jagath, Detective Captain Banawo and Warrant Officer Orie. The following day, Cassim was spotted on Smith Street opposite the taxi rank and was arrested.
His brother was found hiding out in a back-room on Smith Street and he too was arrested. The stolen goods had all been sold but police managed to recover these.
Michelle was also arrested and all three charged for murder and robbery. Cassim escaped from custody in October 2015 along with several other desperate criminals. Warrant Officer Nkabini traced Cassim and the others to a house in Madadeni where all were re-arrested. Warrant Officer Nkabini was lauded for his dedication to solving the case and he, in turn, thanked his colleagues for their ‘total support’.
For Rekha’s family the pain will never end.
