The case of a South African businessman, Rameez Patel, who k!lled his wife by shooting her in the face and then blamed intruders, has finally come to an end after 10 years, with a guilty verdict.
Patel was found guilty of m8rdering his 28-year-old wife, Fatima Patel, at their home in Nirvana, west of Polokwane, Limpopo, in April 2015.
He was convicted at the Polokwane high court on Tuesday on Tuesday, November 25, 2025.
Provincial police spokesperson Brig Hlulani Mashaba said evidence presented before the court revealed that on the morning of the incident, Patel 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 6pm, 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,” Mashaba said.
“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 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.
Patel is expected back in court on December 17 for pre-sentencing proceedings.
His bail has been revoked. Patel’s matter was characterised by a lot of drama. At some point the state’s two witnesses, who were his domestic worker and a general worker at his business, opted out of the witness protection programme and skipped the country.
Patel is also accused of his mother’s m8rder.
Mahejeen Banu Patel, 51, was at her home in Nirvana, near Polokwane, with her domestic worker when an armed man opened fire on them in September 2017.
In July 2018, Rameez’s brother Razeen survived a shooting a 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 for the State.
According to Razeen, his brother confessed to k!lling Fatima and even gave him a box of what he believed was physical evidence to hide.
He said that Rameez later collected the box from him again.
