The family of a SA teacher who died of asphyxiation in Spain have called for a full investigation into his death.
|||Durban - The family of a South African teacher who died under mysterious circumstances in Spain, have called for a full investigation into his death.
Spanish police are probing a suicide, but
the family of Kogilan Govender believe he may have been murdered.
They say the events surrounding his death, including the position his body was found in, were not consistent with suicide.
A Spanish pathologist also described the suicide claims as “weird and inconsistent”, the family said.
They are questioning the sequence of events relayed by Govender’s live-in German girlfriend, who they claim has since refused to meet or speak with the family.
Department of Internal Relations and Co-operation (Dirco) spokesman, Clayson Monyela, said the Spanish police would investigate Govender’s death.
He said they would be liaising, on behalf of the family, with the Spanish authorities to get to the bottom of Govender’s death.
Govender’s body arrived home from Spain on Saturday.
A preliminary post-mortem report revealed that Govender, 35, who had been teaching English in Madrid since 2005, had died of asphyxiation. He was found dead in the bathroom of his flat, in Denia, by his German girlfriend on March 17, at about 1.30am.
Govender had worked in Madrid and went to Denia, a small tourist city on the southern coast of Spain, on weekends to spend time with his five-year-old son, Nikarran.
He was divorced from his Spanish wife Betty Carreneo, whom he had met while working in London in 2003.
Govender’s family were informed of his death the morning he died.
His girlfriend had called his parents at their Centenary Park, Phoenix, home, and told them he had ended his life.
She allegedly told his father, Soobiah, that his death looked like a suicide and she had found him dead in the shower cubicle. He had allegedly hanged himself, she said.
Govender’s family were given 24 hours by Spanish authorities to claim his body, because local law dictates that unclaimed bodies be cremated within that period.
Govender’s brother, Dayalan, said he had sought intervention from Dirco to prevent his brother’s body from being cremated.
However, “the bureaucratic red tape and lack of co-operation from Spanish authorities were frustrating”, he said.
“His girlfriend had agreed to the cremation and I was told my brother’s ashes would be sent home.”
Govender said this raised his suspicions immediately.
He said he urgently submitted an affidavit, through Dirco, confirming that he was the next of kin and no one should do anything until he arrived in the country.
“I went to Spain less than a week later. By that time his girlfriend had packed up all the stuff in the flat and returned to Germany,” he said.
“I asked her to meet me but she refused. She said she was traumatised and receiving counselling from a psychiatrist.”
Govender said he asked her if there had been any fight or argument preceding Kogilan’s death.
“She confirmed there was an argument, but could not confirm what it was about. Her entire explanation about the sequence of events did not make any sense to me.”
Earlier in the day, the couple had spent the day with Nikarran, his mother and other relatives.
“According to her (the girlfriend), they had returned home at 10.30pm and Kogilan put Nikarran to bed. At about 1.30am, while she was making something to eat, Kogilan apparently told her he was going to the bathroom to have a cigarette.”
When he did not emerge from the bathroom after half an hour, she went to investigate, he said.
“She said the door was locked and she had to kick it open. She found him slouched in the shower. He had apparently hanged himself from the shower with his belt.”
Dayalan said that when he went to the flat he found it hard to believe his brother could have ended his life in the bathroom or that the door had been kicked open.
“The pathologist echoed the same sentiments. He said her claims were weird. He said the sequence of events, including the position Kogilan was found in, did not add up.”
The final post-mortem report is expected to be released in a month’s time.
Govender said he spent several days in Spain trying to get his brother’s body released.
“There were a number of public holidays and the language barrier was a huge problem. But with the help of his friends, we managed to get the paperwork rolling,” he said. “The most traumatic thing was to identify my brother’s body.”
He said Kogilan’s friends had dismissed claims he had ended his life.
“He started a network called Global Nights Out. It was a weekly gathering at local pubs to connect local citizens with expatriates from around the world.
“They practised languages and met other teachers. Most of them said he displayed no signs of wanting to end his life.”
Govender said it had been a long and painful three weeks for his family. “But, my brother is finally at rest. Now, I can focus on finding out how he died. I looked at Kogilan’s body again this weekend but could not see any marks that could suggest how he died. The body had been embalmed.”
He described his brother as a “go-getter with everything to live for”.
“Living in Spain was a lonely life for him but he did it for the love of his son,” he said. “I spoke to him less than a week before he died and he sounded fine.” He was excited to be coming home in June after two years, with his girlfriend and son, Govender said.
The Spanish embassy and police could not be reached for comment.
Daily News