POLOKWANE HIGH COURT SENTENCES BUSINESSMAN TO LIFE FOR MURDER OF HIS WIFE
Polokwane The Provincial Commissioner of Police in Limpopo Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe has welcomed the finalization of murder case and subsequent sentencing by Polokwane High Court . The sentencing was finally passed against Rameez Patel 39 years old for a murder of his wife Fatima (28 years old at the time of incident) on Friday 19 December 2025 .
The incident occurred on Friday, 10 April 2015, at their residential apartment in Nirvana, west of Polokwane.
Evidence presented before the court revealed that on the morning of 10 April 2015, the accused brutally shot his wife in the face inside their apartment and left her lying in a pool of blood. The court further heard that later that same day, at around 18:00, Patel returned to the apartment and found the victim still unresponsive. He then reported the matter to the police, alleging that a house robbery had taken place.
Police responded swiftly to the scene and discovered the victim lying 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 following intensive investigations, Patel was arrested on Thursday, 16 April 2015. He made several court appearances before being granted R250,000 bail on Tuesday, 02 June 2015. The matter was subsequently transferred to the Polokwane High Court, where it went through extended judicial processes for nearly nine years.
On Tuesday, 25 November 2025, the Polokwane High Court finally delivered its judgment, finding Patel guilty of murder and possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition.
The Polokwane High Court has, on Friday, 19 December 2025, passed the sentenced against the accused as follows .
Count 1 Murder life imprisonment
Count 2 .Possession of unlicensed firearm , 5 years imprisonment
Count 3 ,Possession of ammunition. 3 years imprisonment
The Provincial Commissioner Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe applauded the industrius and meticulous investigative work by the investigating team working with the National Prosecution, considering all factors in the process ” I am now releaved that justice has been served to the victim’s family and relatives considering the devastating effects of Gender Bases Violence and Femicide”. Concluded General Hadebe .
