We Had a Problem, But I Didn’t Kill Her

The domestic worker charged with the murder and robbery of her employer has testified that she had “a problem with her salary” and decided to quit the week Chatsworth mother and businesswoman, Kalawathie (Kay) Sewcharan, was killed.

Sewcharan’s domestic worker, Limakatso Cristina Mokulubete, 30, and Mokulubete’s boyfriend, Zamokuhle Ndlovu, 27, are on trial for her murder.

The trial was initially held in the Durban High Court, but was transferred to the Pietermaritzburg High Court where Judge Nkosinathi Chili is presiding.

Sewcharan, 60, was killed in a violent home invasion on September 30, 2014.

It was believed at the time that she had suffered a fatal heart attack during the robbery.

However, a post-mortem later indicated the cause of death to be “blunt chest trauma”.

In addition to the murder charges, Mokulubete and Ndlovu face charges of housebreaking with intent to rob, and robbery with aggravating circumstances.

They have pleaded not guilty.

Mokulubete, 30, of Lesotho, cut a slight figure in the witness stand as she testified, her face devoid of emotion.

An application for a discharge (acquittal) after the closure of the State’s case was dismissed by Chili, forcing Mokulubete to take the stand in her defence.

She told the court that she began working for Sewcharan in 2004 and then left in 2006 after having her first child.

She returned to work for Sewcharan as a domestic worker in 2014, working three days a week - Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Mokulubete conceded that she had not gone to work for Sewcharan on Tuesday, September 30, 2014, the day she was killed, because Sewcharan had requested her to work the day before.

She said on that day, she reminded Sewcharan that it was pay day. Sewcharan paid her R660.

“I asked about my salary because it was not correct and she (Sewcharan) told me that this was what her son thought I should be paid. I was supposed to have received R800 for 10 days,” Mokulubete said.

She said she could not discuss the matter with Sewcharan further because it was late and she needed to rush home to attend to her children.

The next day, the day of the murder, Mokulubete said she rested at home.

On Thursday, October 1, 2014, she was expected to go to work for Sewcharan, but after thinking about it, she said she was not happy about her salary and decided to quit her job.

“I was not happy because I also used to finish very late, and not being paid a proper salary was more reason for me to quit,” she said.

Mokulubete said she therefore did not go to work on that Thursday.

She said that later that morning, she received several phone calls from Sewcharan’s children, which she ignored.

“I did not want to answer the calls because I thought they would ask me why I was not at work,” she said.

Mokulubete revealed that she worked for two other families as a domestic worker, and on October 2, 2014, she was asked by one of these employers to collect her wages.

On her way to the house, she “picked up a newspaper” and read about Sewcharan’s murder.

She was then accosted by a man - whom she later discovered was a policeman - who dragged her by her hair, handcuffed her, put her in a vehicle and drove her to the police station.

At the police station, Mokulubete alleges she was asked to name the men she “sent to kill Sewcharan”.

She claimed she was chained by her legs and then kicked, slapped and assaulted.

Mokulubete said she fell over and the policemen then stood on her chest and body and continued kicking her.

“I told them I knew nothing about it, but they said I must tell them the truth or they would be harsh on me,” Mokulubete said.

She said she later confessed to the crime, in fear of her life.

Mokulubete challenged the admissibility of the confession in a trial-within-a-trial, but Chili ruled against her and the confession now forms part of the evidence against her.

She said after she was assaulted, she was taken to her home by police where a necklace that was identified as belonging to Sewcharan was recovered.

However, testifying on Monday, Mokulubete said the necklace belonged to her.

She said her boyfriend had given her the necklace after an argument in the hope of reconciling.

According to the indictment, Mokulubete, Ndlovu “and other persons” stormed Sewcharan’s Bayview home and accosted another woman - Ncamisile Chiliza - who was also employed by Sewcharan as a helper.

They allegedly gagged and bound Chiliza.

It is also alleged they gagged Sewcharan and hit her with a blunt object before raiding the house and fleeing with a cellphone, R40 000 cash and several pieces of jewellery.