Killer mom turns to Concourt

040510 Pietermaritzburg resident Rooksana Karrim leaves the Pretoria High Court yesterday after the court heard that she had been wrongly convicted. Picture: Phill Magakoe Picture: Phill Magakoe

040510 Pietermaritzburg resident Rooksana Karrim leaves the Pretoria High Court yesterday after the court heard that she had been wrongly convicted. Picture: Phill Magakoe Picture: Phill Magakoe

Published Dec 23, 2011

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A Pietermaritzburg woman, convicted for murder, has again dodged jail after she turned to the Constitutional Court for leave to appeal against her conviction and sentence.

Rooksana Karrim was jailed for life by Judge Anna-Marie de Vos in the North Gauteng High Court in 2002, for masterminding the killing of her mother-in-law, 63-year-old Ayesha Fazel Ellahi.

In her founding affidavit, submitted to the Constitutional Court on Thursday, Karrim, who is a single mother to a minor child, said she was dealt an injustice by Judge De Vos’s “hasty imposition” of life imprisonment.

Karrim said the trial judge relegated her function to the appeal court and in so doing, tainted the trial and appeal proceedings resulting in a complete failure of justice.

She said the order of the Supreme Court of Appeals (SCA) directing that the sentence imposed be the subject of an appeal hearing has not been fulfilled.

In November 2000, Ellahi’s son-in-law found her body under a heap of duvets at her home in Piet Retief. The woman had been strangled with a shoelace.

Ellahi was strangled by two brothers – Mandla Mavuso escaped from police custody and is still on the run and Sibusiso turned State witness and testified against Karrim.

Karrim denied any involvement in the murder. She told the court she had problems with her husband, Shiraz, who had assaulted her and Ellahi. The couple has since divorced.

Last month the SCA dismissed an appeal against Karrim’s conviction and sentence to life imprisonment.

Subsequent to her sentence, Karrim was denied an appeal. However, after a petition to the SCA she was granted leave to appeal to the full court as well as leave to lead further evidence. In November 2002 Karrim was released pending the outcome of her appeal.

After hearing the application to lead further evidence the full court postponed the appeal sine die (without setting a court date) and granted Karrim leave to call four witnesses. After the tendering of the further evidence, the appeal was referred back to the full court which dismissed the appeal.

Karrim applied once more for special leave to appeal to the SCA.

A few days before the appeal, Karrim filed another application to lead evidence from her former domestic worker Patricia Dube who had testified in the trial. Dube testified that the Mavuso brothers were hired as hit men after she was approached by Karrim to find people to kill Ellahi.

Karrim said that Dube, who is also serving a life sentence for her role in the murder, was prepared to give evidence that she lied in her previous testimony and that Karrim was not involved in the killing.

The SCA considered the appeal and directed the court to hear evidence from Dube and any other witnesses in the light of Dube’s evidence.

The trial court found that Dube told the truth when she testified initially and that her latest evidence was false.

As a result, the SCA found Dube’s earlier evidence was true and the appeal was dismissed.

Karrim argued that De Vos did not have jurisdiction to hear further evidence in her case without the sentence and conviction being set aside first.

On Thursday Karrim, whose bail was extended, applied for leave to appeal the SCA ruling in the Constitutional Court.

For the application, Karrim, for the first time, consulted a clinical psychologist. The psychologist, who is still finalising the report, said initial tests reveal that Karrim has a very low IQ. Citing case law, Karrim argued that having a low IQ and a minor child was a substantial and compelling factor to deviate from the minimum sentence and therefore her right to a fair trial was violated. The child is 11 years old.

Karrim applied to have the SCA ruling set aside and replaced with an order upholding the appeal with costs.

The Constitutional Court has 10 days to respond to the application.

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