A murder-accused Durban man has had his appeal dismissed by the Durban High Court after the Verulam Magistrate’s Court denied him bail for the second time.  This is after he allegedly paid a R5,000 bribe to one of his former employees, who he allegedly tried to kill, to change a statement that he made to the police and say that he is innocent. 

Shirwin Nowtham is charged with murder and attempted murder of his two employees. The State alleges that Nowtham shot his employees, and one survived.

According to court papers on October 4, 2024, the lower court denied him bail. He did not challenge that, but he later applied for bail on new facts, and on March 14, 2025, the same court refused his application. After that, he approached the high court to appeal the bail refusal by the lower court. 

The survivor, who cannot be named, made a statement to the police on September 11, 2024, in which it stated that Nowtham picked him and his colleague up in a Grey Polo, in August 2024. 

He said Nowtham was with a person named Stephen. He explained that he and his colleague worked for Nowtham and Stephen, selling drugs. On the day they were shot, the survivor said they were promised another job. 

As their employers fetched them in a Polo, the survivor said they were made at some stage to get out of the car. 

“Nowtham then took the firearm which was inside the vehicle and shot at us,” the survivor said. 

When Nowtham applied for bail on new facts, he stated the continued illness of his son, his ongoing hypertension, and that the survivor has withdrawn his allegations against him. The second statement made by the survivor was on November 15, 2024, and it was not submitted in court.

On November 18, 2024, the survivor made another statement where he said Nowtham called him from prison and told him to change his statement and say Stephen is the one who shot him. The survivor confirmed that he received a R5,000 payment sent through Nowtham’s friend Lunga. 

The survivor further stated that he was promised R20,000 if he went to court on November 27, 2024, to withdraw charges against Nowtham. He said he did not want to do that. However, on November 25 and in January 2025, the survivor made other statements to different attorneys, where he said Nowtham did not shoot him. 

Nowtham said this was a compelling reason for him to get bail as the survivors’ statement ruined the State’s case. However, State said it has more evidence, including cellphone records, and that before the employee died, he told a security guard that Nowtham shot him. 

“I am not persuaded that the magistrate has erred at all in coming to her decision, and I am not able to find that the conclusion that she came to was the incorrect one,” Judge Robin Mossop said. 

He said the evidence of the survivor that Nowtham was able to reach him and influence him was compelling evidence of Nowtham’s willingness to interfere with State witnesses, a conclusion to which the magistrate correctly came to. Judge Mossop said he was unable to interfere in the decision of the magistrate.

nomonde.zondi@inl.co.za

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