Amanzimtoti real estate agent guilty of crimen injuria
Freddie Lewis accused Barend Groen of being involved in the murder of former Ward 90 councillor Sunil Brijmohan.
AN AMANZIMTOTI real estate agent was found guilty of crimen injuria by the Umlazi Magistrate’s Court, on February 21, after he had accused another resident of being involved in the murder of former Ward 90 councillor Sunil Brijmohan.
Crimen injuria is a crime of intentionally impairing someone’s dignity by using obscene or offensive language or gestures.
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On October 21, 2022, Freddie Lewis arrived at a construction site on Cato Crescent in Amanzimtoti where Brijmohan had earlier been shot dead by two gunmen. The site is next to a property owned by Barend Groen, who had raised concerns regarding construction going ahead despite the approvals not being finalised by the municipality. Lewis had been handling the sale of the property, and Brijmohan had started building a townhouse complex when he was shot at point-blank range that morning while supervising construction.
In his affidavit, Groen said that after the police, security companies, neighbours and the Brijmohan family arrived at the scene, Lewis also arrived, and while Groen was standing some distance away, the court was told Lewis approached him in an aggressive manner and shouted, “I hope you are happy now. This is what you wanted. I know you are behind this. I will have you investigated.”
Groen opened a case of crimen injuria against Lewis, saying the accusations had put his life in danger and had impaired his dignity.
An investigation of Brijmohan’s murder led to the arrest of the gunmen, and they were eventually sentenced to 18 years imprisonment each. A man who is accused of being the mastermind behind the murder, Vikash Brian Sewnath, was also arrested in 2023. Sewnath was employed by Brijmohan and was his close friend.
“The court found that I had nothing to do with Brijmohan’s murder. While he initially denied that he had said those words, Lewis later said he had lashed out as he was upset because he was about to lose commission for the sale of the property Brijmohan was killed on,” said Groen.
Lewis opted not to answer questions sent by the SUN or to give his side of the story. After being found guilty, he received a warning and was discharged.
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