After a decade-long legal battle, a South African businessman has finally been convicted for the brutal murder of his young wife, a case that shocked the nation and involved dramatic twists including witness intimidation and additional family killings.
The Crime and Conviction
Rameez Patel was found guilty of murdering his 28-year-old wife, Fatima Patel, at their home in Nirvana, west of Polokwane, Limpopo, in April 2015. The Polokwane High Court delivered the guilty verdict on Tuesday, November 25, 2025, bringing closure to a case that has stretched over ten years.
According to Provincial police spokesperson Brig Hlulani Mashaba, evidence presented in court revealed that Patel shot his wife in the face inside their apartment and left her lying in a pool of blood. The court heard that later that same day, at around 6pm, Patel returned to the apartment and found the victim still unresponsive before reporting the matter to police while falsely claiming a house robbery had occurred.
Investigation and Case Developments
Police responded swiftly to the scene and discovered Fatima unconscious with a gunshot wound to her face. Emergency medical services personnel declared her dead on the scene. A murder case was immediately opened, and after investigations, Patel was arrested six days later.
He made several court appearances before being granted bail of R250,000 on June 2, 2015. Limpopo police commissioner Lt-Gen Thembi Hadebe applauded the work of the provincial investigating unit and the provincial tracking team in securing the conviction.
Dramatic Twists and Additional Charges
The Patel murder case was characterized by significant drama that complicated proceedings. At one point, the state's two witnesses - his domestic worker and a general worker at his business - opted out of the witness protection programme and skipped the country.
Adding to the complexity, Patel is also accused of his mother's murder. Mahejeen Banu Patel, 51, was at her home in Nirvana with her domestic worker when an armed man opened fire on them in September 2017.
In another dramatic development, Rameez's brother Razeen survived a shooting in July 2018 just one day before he was due to testify for the state in Fatima's murder case. He fled to Britain after the shooting but returned in November to testify, telling the court that his brother had confessed to killing Fatima and had given him a box of what he believed was physical evidence to hide, though Rameez later collected the box from him again.
Patel is expected back in court on December 17 for pre-sentencing proceedings, and his bail has been revoked following the guilty verdict.
