Durban - A Phoenix father of two who stabbed his wife to death was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment on Tuesday.
Mohammed Nadeem Shaik Moideen, 36, pleaded guilty to killing Nadia Mia, 34, at their Lenham home on July 29 last year.
Moideen, who works as a carpenter, blamed cocaine and alcohol for his deadly deed after he was convinced that his wife had an affair.
Passing sentence, Verulam magistrate Nokwazi Sosibo took into account the fact his family had forgiven him.
“The court also takes into account the brutality of the murder and the post-mortem which showed multiple stabs wounds, about 18,” she said.
“His actions were selfish,” Sosibo said.
“He was angry and did not think about his children at the time. His first thought should have been them.”
In his plea statement, Moideen, who once fought with his wife because of a love bite he had given her, gave his version of what had taken place that fateful Saturday night.
According to his statement, read out by his Legal Aid attorney, Sthembile Mahlangu, Moideen said that the night before he, his wife and daughter had been together.
“I then asked the deceased for permission to buy drugs and she refused.”
Undeterred, he drove to Overport in Durban and bought a bag of cocaine and on his way home, stopped to buy food.
“When I arrived home, I did not eat and started to sniff the cocaine. I got high and had the need to buy more drugs.”
He said he asked Mia to accompany him but she refused, saying she was going to bed.
In the early hours of Saturday, Moideen drove back to Overport to buy more drugs and arrived home at around 8am.
“The deceased asked where I had been. I ignored her and went to my daughter’s bedroom. The deceased followed me. I asked her who else was in the room and she said no one.”
He said he did not believe her and grabbed her by the hair and assaulted her.
“We argued and ended up in the kitchen where I picked up the knife that was on the table and started to stab her numerous times on her body. I noticed that the deceased was bleeding profusely and I wanted to run away seeing that she might die.”
Moideen said Mia tried to follow him but collapsed on the sofa.
The court also heard that Moideen, who had left the crime scene, had crashed his brother’s car in Isipingo Beach and got a lift to his mother’s home in Asherville, where his brother notified him that his wife was dead.
Moideen said the alcohol and cocaine had affected his mental state and he was not thinking properly.
Prosecutor Musa Myeni said Moideen had a previous conviction for attempted murder which must be taken into account.
The “brutal” nature of the killing showed the anger behind the act, he said.
Taking the stand during mitigation of sentence, Mia’s uncle, Mohamed Shaik, said the family was still hurting from the murder.
“I’m sure rehabilitation will help him (Moideen). He is a good person and at the end of the day, we cannot judge. He is part of the family,” Shaik said.
Moideen’s daughter, who smiled and hugged her father with joy after he was sentenced, told POST outside court that he was a “good man”, but that drugs made him kill her mom.
“He’s a lovely person. I always knew he would plead guilty and take full responsibility. I know he regrets what he did. It was not him doing it.”
Mark Perumal, the policeman who investigated the matter, was unhappy with the sentence. “Ten years for a brutal murder is not justice,” he told POST.