Killer forced wife to dig own grave

Murder suspect Igshaan 'Gaddafi' Isaacs. Photo: Mlondolozi Mbolo

Murder suspect Igshaan 'Gaddafi' Isaacs. Photo: Mlondolozi Mbolo

Published Oct 26, 2011

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Igshaan “Gaddafi” Isaacs made his wife dig her own grave, saying he would bury her in it if she ever left him.

Eight years later, Isaacs put a gun to pretty Fazlin Arendse’s head and pulled the trigger because he thought she was having an affair with a young Muslim holy man.

Last week, the 46-year-old Isaacs pleaded guilty to the June 2010 shooting of Fazlin, 27, and Moulana Sharief Hendricks, 31, inside her Oval South, Beacon Valley home in Mitchell’s Plain. He also pleaded guilty to charges of possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition.

Today, the Daily Voice can also reveal the shocking images taken moments after the two were gunned down.

On Tuesday, Fazlin’s own mother, Fatima van Stavel revealed her daughter was forced to dig a huge hole at Swartklip beach when she threatened to leave Isaacs.

And that Isaacs had threatened to bury her in the same grave if she dared get involved with anyone else.

“Two weeks before her death, Fazlin visited Wolfgat Nature Reserve with her father. She had told me the story before but it was the first time she opened up to her father,” said Fatima.

“She told us that ‘Shaan’ took her to Swartklip and forced her to dig her own grave.

“Shaan just came out of jail, it was eight years ago.

“He said she must dig the grave, want as sy hom los, dan is dit haar graf (because if she leaves him, then that’s her grave).”

That was just the beginning of a number of chilling threats the young mom would receive from her ex-husband before her life was snuffed out.

Even on the day of her death, Fazlin told friends Isaacs would kill her.

Fazlin’s 24-year-old friend, who does not want to be named, testified on Tuesday that she saw the young mother just after 5pm – nearly two hours before the murders.

“Fazlin fetched her child at the creche and we spoke, she said: ‘Ek sê vir julle, Shaan gaan vir my dood maak (I am telling you, Shaan is going to kill me),’” she said.

Fazlin’s mother also reveals, after the murders, the couple’s eldest son Aqeel, 10, told of how Isaacs threatened Fazlin in the home they once shared.

“In the night, he would hear his mother and father arguing, Igshaan would say: ‘Ek gat jou nog dood skiet (I’m going to shoot you).’”

On Tuesday, while with the Daily Voice, Fatima was left reeling after she viewed the grisly images of her daughter’s bullet-riddled body.

The photographs were taken by a constable stationed at the local Criminal Record Centre in Mitchell’s Plain.

Fatima was overcome with emotion and had to be consoled by her son, Adiel, after seeing them for the first time.

The photographs are graphic – they show the lifeless bodies of Fazlin and Sharief in the lounge moments after they were gunned down.

Fazlin is wearing a black jacket and dark jeans, her head resting in a pool of her own blood.

Her body is partially against a wall, lying at the feet of Sharief, who is slumped on a green armchair behind her.

Blood covers his face and oozes from his mouth, a bullet wound to the head is visible. Another bullet hole is visible on the left side of his chest as it ripped through his brown jacket.

Fatima explained that seeing the horrific photographs has brought her some closure.

“It was traumatic but I wanted to see what it looked like inside the house,” she said.

“But despite this I will still come to court because I want justice for Fazlin and Sharief… they were shot like dogs.”

* This article was published on p4 of the Daily Voice

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