Patel bail: ‘Evidence of a hitman’
The bail hearing in the murder of Mahjebeen Patel, murder accused Rameez Patel’s mother, resumed in the Polokwane Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday and Thursday.
POLOKWANE – The state, through Prosecutor Mashudu Mudau, said evidence has come to light about an alleged hitman hired by Patel in the murder.
Details also emerged of how payment for the hit would be effected so a transaction could not be traced back to Patel.
The court also heard that GPRS data placed Patel in the vicinity of the alleged hitman shortly after his mother’s death on the evening of her death, the court heard.
Read more: ‘I hit her with a cricket bat to shut her up’
In the bail application, a woman who chose not to be identified, testified that Razeen Patel, Rameez’s brother, feared for his life following the incident and subsequently left the country.
Testifying for the defence, Nasreen Mayet, who was in a relationship with Patel while both were still married, testified that she had been told to give incriminating evidence against Patel. A recording between her and her ex-husband was played in court, in which she expressed her fear for Patel and his “abusive” ways, and details emerged of her having knowledge of Patel’s alleged intention to ‘put his mother away.’
The state prosecutor said she was an unreliable witness who could have alerted the authorities had she feared for her life, but that this was never done.
The bail hearing will continue on 25 and 26 October.
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