William “Bill” Daly's domestic worker has spoken of the pain of being “grilled” by police probing her boss’s gruesome murder .
|||Durban - William “Bill” Daly's long-serving domestic worker has spoken of the pain and hurt of being “grilled” alongside her son by police investigating the elderly Durban businessman’s gruesome murder last week.
Maureen Ngema, 67, said she had a “very good” working relationship with Daly, 89, the last surviving son of the W Daly & Son fruit juice company founder, and the man she insisted on calling baas who was her employer for 28 years.
Ngema said she was returning from Addington Hospital with her son, where she underwent a check-up for a niggling foot sore, when they arrived at Daly’s Maple Road, Morningside home and found him dead in his garden.
His mouth had been stuffed with a rag and a piece of cloth had been tied around his neck. The double-storey house had been ransacked, its contents strewn all over and money and clothes had been stolen.
It has since emerged that Daly might have been killed by two vagrants who robbed him of R270 that he was due to deposit in a church account.
Investigations by private investigator Brad Nathanson, who was hired by the family, have so far revealed that the killers were believed to be homeless men who lived near Blue Lagoon – and an arrest could be imminent.
“We know the name of the main suspect. He has just been released from prison and we’re hunting him. We’re confident of his arrest,” Nathanson said.
But that was not before Ngema and her son Mandla had undergone intense questioning by the police.
Ngema, who appeared grief-stricken, said she would miss Daly, who had provided bread and butter for her family for nearly three decades. They lived on his property, in the adjoining servants’ quarters.
“Baas didn’t pay me that much money, R1 600 even after all these years. But I stayed and persevered. I’m a rural woman, from a place where only boys were encouraged to go to school.
“He could speak Zulu. I stayed with him and he helped me raise my children. They would come and visit for the holidays from Eshowe, sometimes to look for jobs, and they’d even stay in the house. If he heard me talking about money, he’d ask me if I had enough food. He was like a mother and father to me.
“He was a kind person, with no problems. If something happened he’d get upset like anyone else, but he would let it pass. Even if I was sulking, he would show concern until we were back on good terms.
“He liked bowls. In church if the pastor wasn’t there, he would take over. If there was a burst pipe, he would fix it. Last year he painted the whole church and I said, ‘Just look at how little you’re paying me, yet you can paint the church for R40 000.’ But I forgave him and we moved on from that.
“He did a lot for me and my children, including Mandla, over the years I worked for him. And he knew how thankful I was for it.
“All of us are weeping. Now, to be questioned by the police time and again after his murder, like we are the ones who did this, is very painful. I am very hurt.”
After mourners packed the Stamford Hill Methodist Church for his funeral on Friday, the Daly family thanked all who had rallied around, including the well-wishers who put flowers and messages of support at the front gate of Daly’s home.
Daly’s niece, Trish Lee, said, “The support has been unbelievable. For an 89-year-old to have a turnout like that at his funeral… people standing outside because there wasn’t enough space to get in. That was just a sign of the man he was. There were children and old people… some of whom hadn’t seen him for 40 years.
“That man touched many lives in ways he didn’t realise. We’re going to keep the ball rolling with the private investigator. We are going to find out who did this and prevent it from happening to someone else. We have to.”
Daly’s two dogs, a fox terrier and Maltese poodle, were cremated and their ashes buried with Daly’s.
A vintage car fanatic, Daly owned a 1936 MG VA, a 1958 MG Magnet, a 1959 Morris Minor and a post-World War II Daimler, all of which have been moved for safekeeping until his estate is wound up.
Nephew Hylton Lee said, “He was an exceptional man. This is his parents’ house. He was born and died here. It was a tragic end to an amazing life.”
Sunday Tribune