SCA confirms life term for Rameez Patel in wife’s 2015 killing

The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) has dismissed an application by Rameez Patel for leave to appeal, confirming his life sentence for the 2015 killing of his first wife, Fatima Choomara Patel. The SCA handed down its judgment in the matter last week.

Appeal dismissed

Patel filed the application on 12 May from prison through his lawyer, Saleem Khan, seeking leave to appeal his conviction and sentence from the Limpopo High Court in Polokwane. The SCA ruled that the application had no prospect of success.

“Having considered the Notice of Motion, and other documents filed, it is ordered that the application for leave to appeal is dismissed on the grounds that there are no reasonable prospects of success and there is no other compelling reason why an appeal should be heard.”

Sentence and custody

Judge Joseph Raulinga sentenced Patel in December 2025 to life imprisonment for the premeditated murder of Fatima. The court added five years for possession of an unlicensed firearm and three years for possession of illegal ammunition, and declared Patel unfit to possess a firearm.

After the SCA ruling, Patel’s R250 000 bail was revoked and he was taken to a holding cell.

The killing and evidence

Fatima’s body was found in a pool of blood at the couple’s Nirvana home in Limpopo after an alleged fight. A forensic autopsy by Dr Thakadu Mamashela concluded that Fatima was shot in the head, had been strangled at some point before death, and sustained blunt force trauma that dislocated her jaw. A cricket bat was recovered from the ceiling of the apartment.

Case history and related matters

Patel pleaded not guilty when the trial began in 2016. He had previously been released on R250 000 bail in 2015. During the original investigation and trial, Patel attempted to portray the incident as a home invasion and blamed intruders.

Other allegations and incidents connected to Patel that are noted in the record include: the provisional withdrawal in 2021 of a case accusing him of killing his mother, Muhajeen, because of insufficient evidence; the unsolved robbery death of his father, Firoz; the kidnapping and murder of Yunus Mayet, the father of his current wife; and the 2018 shooting of his brother, Razeen, days before he was due to testify against Patel.

Judge’s remarks

When imposing sentence, Judge Raulinga said Patel had shown zero remorse and described the case as one of Limpopo’s most harrowing instances of femicide. The judge refused an urgent application to extend Patel’s bail pending sentencing.

The SCA dismissal concludes Patel’s most recent challenge to the conviction and sentence.