Polokwane - Double murder accused Limpopo businessman Rameez Patel was forced to listen to his own brother testify that he had confessed to murdering his wife, Fatima. Patel is on trial in the Limpopo High Court. Fatima Patel was shot and strangled in 2015 in an attack her husband blamed on an intruder.
Patel is also accused of his mother's murder. 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 last year.
Razeen Patel, who had arrived from the United Kingdom over the weekend, was escorted to the courthouse by armed guards on Monday. Razeen has been living abroad since he survived a shooting a day before he was due to testify for the state in Fatima's murder case earlier this year.
According to the Polokwane Observer, Rameez could be seen shaking his head in disbelief as his brother gave potentially damning testimony against him. Razeen testified that Rameez repeatedly threatened to kill him if he turned on him.
Patel allegedly entrusted Razeen with a box of evidence, including blood-stained clothing and a handgun which he was told to hide at a warehouse. According to Razeen, Rameez's second wife Nazreen contacted him shortly after Rameez's arrest asking him to hand over the box to her.
Razeen went on to tell the court that he had told both his parents about Rameez's confession and threats and that both parents were killed shortly after he had spoken to them about the murder.
The Patel brothers' father Feroz was killed in 2016 in what is believed to be an armed robbery.