A former gang leader and convicted murderer has dedicated his life to combating drug abuse after serving 25 years in prison. YOSHINI PERUMAL tells his journey from a life of crime to becoming a beacon of hope for communities plagued by addiction

 

A CONVICTED killer and rapist who was sentenced to death by hanging in 1988, is using his second chance at life to fight against drug abuse and help ex-offenders reintegrate into society.

Ravi Naidoo, 61, was the leader of the Phoenix 5 gang and was convicted for the murder of his boss’s wife, Sonia Austin – the owner of House of Pearls in Morningside – and the rape and attempted murder of her two domestic helpers, during an armed robbery on October 20, 1987.

At the time, Naidoo and his gang members, Brian Naidoo, Narainsamy Moodley, Krishna Moonsamy, and Peter Anthony were found guilty of murder, two counts of attempted murder, sexual assault, rape and robbery with aggravating circumstances. 

Naidoo was 23-years-old at the time and his co-accused were teenagers and in their early 20s, were all sentenced to death by hanging in 1988.

But the case was adjourned until 1990, when a five-year moratorium on capital punishment was instated.

When the death sentence was abolished in June 1995, Naidoo was given a life sentence plus 38 years imprisonment for his crimes.

He was released from prison on April 13, 2012. 

Speaking to the POST, Naidoo said he had lived a violent life and only found his purpose in prison. During his incarceration he obtained three diplomas and four national certificates.

A violent teenager and leader of the Phoenix 5 Gang

Naidoo was born in Greenwood Park and his family later moved to Phoenix, where he grew up. He attended Phoenix Secondary, but dropped out in Grade 11 after his girlfriend, who was in the same grade, fell pregnant. 

He said his teenage years were fuelled by drugs and alcohol.

“I grew up in Stonebridge and spent my teenage years playing soccer. I was a striker for the Stonebridge Football Club. But I indulged in cigarettes and drugs, like mandrax and marijuana, which were popular at the time. I also drank excessively and was violent.

“My parents were strict. We were six siblings and I was the second youngest. We were a close-knit family and this holds true even today. I was not violent at home and never brought trouble to our door,” he said.

Naidoo said he and friends were always involved in fights in and outside school. 

“At that time gang violence was high. Today there are guns. In those days you had to fight with sticks and stones to break bones. We stabbed people and while I was still in school, I hacked someone with a chopper and a bush knife.

“When I dropped out of school I got a job at a printing company to support my wife and child. At 18, I was a father. I slowed down with my binging on drugs and alcohol, but I was selling drugs,” he confessed.

Growing a drug cartel

Naidoo said his family never suspected him of running a drug cartel.

“Nobody in the community or in my family suspected anything. They knew we (the Phoenix 5 Gang) were violent, but they did not know about the drugs. We supplied prostitution houses and massage parlours in central Durban. My wife thought I was a hardworking man who did his duties,” Naidoo added.

In 1986, Naidoo bought a house in Woodview.

“Dealing in drugs was a lucrative business. With the profits I lived lavishly and spent on my friends and family. We dressed in the most expensive clothes.

“My plan was to rob the Austin’s house and then use that money to grow my drug cartel. My wife was six months pregnant at the time of the robbery,” he said.

From gang leader to armed robber, rapist, and murderer

“Greed led to the robbery. I worked for Austin for seven years and we had a good working relationship. I was 23 and intent on growing my cartel and becoming rich. 

“I realised that we could rob my boss’s wife as she would have cash and jewellery at her home. Three weeks before the robbery, we sat at the table in my home and discussed how we would execute the robbery,” he added.

He said he went to the house once with his boss, so he knew the security they had.

“We disguised ourselves as delivery guys. It was the day before Diwali in 1987. I had booked off sick for three days. We were armed with knives and I had a toy gun. The domestic worker opened the gate and we gained entry. We tied up the two domestic workers and gagged them. One of them made a noise so we hit both of them. We then raped and sexually assaulted them. I was sober, but violent. The others had consumed drugs and alcohol before the robbery.

“When Sonia arrived, we had already raped the domestic workers. We grabbed her and made her open the safe and then tied her hands and legs. We gagged her with socks and tied her up. I knew I had to kill her because she could identify me.

“We took the jewellery and money that was in the safe. There were thousands of rand and dollars as well,” he said.

He said he had stabbed Sonia while the others stabbed the domestic workers.

“I stabbed Sonia repeatedly in her neck, body and heart. The domestic workers were stabbed about seven or eight times. We were trying to kill them all. The robbery took three hours. Before I could leave the house, I looked at Sonia and she was bleeding profusely. I knew she wouldn’t have survived the stabbing. I stood and watched her die. We took over R60 000 worth of jewellery and the cash and we went back to my house.

“It was about 2.30pm and I had a shower, and took a nap. There was no blood on my clothes so my wife did not suspect anything. I did not even think about us getting caught and thought we had pulled it off,” he said.

That afternoon, Naidoo said a colleague from work visited him and told him the boss’s wife had been stabbed and robbed.

“He did not realise he was talking to the killer. I asked him if she was dead. He said he did not know. I said the story was very sad,” he said.

Naidoo said his boss’s friend, an interior designer, had gone to visit Sonia that afternoon and discovered her in a pool of blood. The two domestic workers were critically injured but survived.

The fall of the Phoenix 5 Gang

At 3am on Diwali morning, police surrounded Naidoo’s house. His accomplices were already arrested. They were traced through a number plate of the vehicle they had used in the robbery.

“This was the first big thing we did as a gang. We had killed and raped across the colour line. We killed a white woman and raped two black women. The country was in uproar.

“The cops banged on the door. My father opened the door and they dragged me from my bed. My family did not know how serious the case against me was. When they found out, they were in disbelief.

“We were making headlines as Indians who had raped and killed. We spent 11 months in Westville Prison and were sentenced to death in 1988. All five of us were on death row.

“I had no lawyer or advocate and chose to speak for myself. I was very arrogant. I told the judge that I had never begged in my life and I was not going to start. I told him I did the crime and I was ready to die,” he said.

Naidoo was refused leave to appeal his case at the Bloemfontein High Court and he was served with a seven-day notice of execution in November 1988.

“I was in Pretoria Central, a maximum security prison and on death row.

“Officials came to me and measured my neck. They put a rope around it to make sure it was the correct length and measured my height and weight. I cannot describe how I felt at that moment.”

From one gang to another

Naidoo said while in prison, he continued with the drugs, alcohol and violence.

“I spent six years in Westville Prison where gangs were rife. I joined the 26 Gang. I rose up the ranks and was an 8-star judge in the gang, which gave me power and authority. 

“Some of the things I had to do was take blood. When you want anything in prison, you do it with blood. You even pay with blood, meaning you would have to assault somebody badly.

“In 1999, I was transferred to Sevontein Prison, in Pietermaritzburg, after a rival gang member was chopped with a cleaver. I was transferred for dealing in drugs and inciting gang violence,” he said.

Naidoo said when his father died in 2004 and his wife in 2001, he was not allowed to go for the funerals, as he was a high-profile prisoner.

“I saw my older son but I only saw my second son for the first time when he was three years old. As a Group B prisoner, I saw him through a glass. When I became a Group A prisoner, I was allowed to carry my second son for the first time. He was seven at the time,” he said.

Life changes

“In 2005, I had served 18 years of my sentence. At the time I was high on ecstasy and did not sleep for days. I prayed and said ‘Lord, if you are out there, please help me’. The next day, five men came to speak to the prisoners. I was a Hindu but I accepted the Lord Jesus Christ. 

“I gave up the gang, drinking and smoking in one day. I was stabbed and badly injured but they eventually accepted my decisions. I was clean for seven years in prison,” Naidoo said.

In this time, he achieved three diplomas in teaching, business management and theology, and national certificates in electrical engineering, catering, home decoration, furniture production and reupholstering. He also learnt to speak isiZulu in prison.

On April 13, 2012, Naidoo was one of the 62 prisoners who was pardoned and released, after serving 25 years of his sentence.

“When I got out, gangs in Phoenix tried recruiting me but I declined. I left Durban to build a better life in Johannesburg. I worked for six years at a shipping company. One day I was sitting in a church when I heard a voice say ‘I did not save you to be enjoying church. People are dying out there.’ Since then I have dedicated my life to helping others and driving change,” he said.

Tackling drugs and gang violence in Phoenix and Chatsworth

Naidoo works with police, the department of correctional services and community and religious leaders to drive change in communities. 

“My mission is to speak on the street. I face criticism daily. Some people say I should have died in prison, while others say I need to be shot and tortured for what I did. But this does not deter me.

“Recently, I visited Chatsworth and held rallies where drugs and gangs are rife. I went to Shallcross and Crossmoor, where the 11 Street Gang is well-known for running a drug cartel, to speak to school children about drugs and violence. 

“I was shocked to receive death threats. I was told I needed bullets in my head after visiting Chatsworth. A pastor even called and questioned me about coming to preach against drugs and gangs.

“I told him there was no fear in my vocabulary. This is the truth. I was given information that children were being recruited to sell drugs in Chatsworth and that drugs were being sold to kids. My work there is not done.

“I was prepared to die for drugs and gangs. Now I choose to die for the truth,” said Naidoo.

In the last two years, he has reached 54 cities and 24 schools.

THE POST 

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