Businessman accused of killing three of his employees over salary dispute

Thursday, May 14, 2026 - A South African businessman, Aldane Donnelly, has been arrested for the m8rder of his three employees over unpaid wages in Camperdown, KZN. 

It has been alleged the victims were found lying face down next to one another in a room in the workshop, with their pants down. 

Each victim had a pipe pushed into their buttocks.

On Monday, businessman Donnelly, 40, appeared in the Camperdown Magistrate’s Court for the alleged m8rder of Balan Pillay, 45, Kenneth Nichols Halgryn, 46, and Clive Anthony, 69.

Donnelly abandoned his bail application.

Shaheen Suleiman, the owner of Magma Security and Investigation, said they received a call on Friday afternoon about two bodies that were found near Umlaas Road.

“When we got to the scene, we were directed to the workshop. We were then directed into another room and found three bodies lying in a pool of blood. We called Camperdown SAPS to take over the scene. The accused was later arrested in a bed 'n' breakfast,” said Suleiman.

Relatives of the three victims claimed there had been months of salary disputes between the accused and workers at the workshop.

Vernal Augustus, 52, from Woodlands, said her uncle, Clive Anthony, a boilermaker, had repeatedly complained about not getting paid.

“At the end of April, Clive forwarded me messages from Kenneth’s mother, where she complained that her son (Kenneth) was not paid. Their boss repeatedly told them he did not have money for wages, and hid from the workers,” she claimed.

According to Augustus, Anthony had received a message to go to the workshop early on Wednesday morning.

“Clive went because he wanted to fetch his tools and outstanding wages. He was due to start a new job. That was the last we heard from him,” said Augustus.

She said they tried to call him, to no avail, on Wednesday.

"On Friday, we were told that Clive was d3ad. We went to the mortuary to identify his body. It was a gruesome sight. He suffered multiple stab wounds, including to his face,” she said.

Augustus said from the information they had gathered, it appeared that the victims had been stabbed one after the other.

She claimed one of the men, who had found the bodies, had told them that on the day, he had heard Pillay argue about not getting his wages.

“The detective said their bodies were laid face down in a line and their pants were down. Each of them had a pipe pushed into their buttocks. It was brutal,” she said.

Halgryn’s mother, Marita Rossouw, 64, from Oribi, in Pietermaritzburg, said her son was the family’s sole breadwinner.

“He was doing casual work as a boilermaker and welder when he was k!lled. Sometimes he stayed at the workshop because he did not have money to come home.”

Rossouw said salary disputes between her son and his employer were common.

 She said her son was tied up, shot in the head and st@bbed multiple times.

“Last Wednesday Kenneth told me he could not come home because he had no money for transport. We always chat on WhatsApp. That night he did not reply to my messages and I knew something was wrong,” she said.

Rossouw said identifying her son’s body had traumatised her.

“On Friday night, I got the call that my son was found dead. Identifying the body was the worst. I cannot forget it. I still cannot find his cellphone. I do not know how I will go on. He is my only child, and I lost him in such a gruesome way.”

Yergan Pillay, 39, from Lincoln Meade, in Pietermaritzburg, said Balan, his only sibling, had only recently started work in Camperdown.

"We were born and brought up in Camperdown. Our grandfather, father and uncles worked in the dairy factory, which is the same building where Balan was killed.”

He said his brother had moved to Umlaas Road two months earlier and had started doing part-time fabrication and boilermaker work.

“My brother went to collect his wages on Friday and that was the last time he was seen,” he said.

Pillay said the family was horrified by the circumstances surrounding the death.

“When we got the news of his death, we were shocked and traumatised by the way he was killed. Balan was stabbed in the back. I was devastated when I had to view his body in the mortuary. My brother was a humble and well-loved person.”

He said their family were determined to see justice served.

“We received a lot of support in court. We cannot bring my brother back, but we want justice to prevail, and for my brother’s killer to be sent to prison for life. Our family are barely coping.”

Police confirmed the arrest and said investigators were still working to determine the exact motive for the k!llings.

KZN SAPS spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said police were called to the property on Friday evening where three bodies were found with multiple stab wounds.

“A spear-like object, suspected to be the weapon used to kill the three victims, was recovered,” Netshiunda said.

He added that police had not ruled out an employment-related dispute as a possible motive.

"Although the motive of the k!lling is not known at this stage, wages dispute between an employer and employees cannot be ruled out,” he said.

Balan’s funeral will be held on Thursday, while Anthony’s funeral will take place on Saturday.