Durban - Omar Sabadia, the man who had his wife murdered in a staged hijacking, is to continue to serve his time in prison after his children opposed his planned release on parole.
The well-known psychiatrist has served about 20 years of his effective 50-year jail term and had been expected to be released on parole June 20.
Ahmed Suliman, the attorney representing the three children, took the parole board to task for not notifying the family of the April 20 hearing.
“We have objected to his release as the parole board had failed to notify us of the date, which according to the Correctional Services Act states that family members are entitled to be at every parole hearing,” he told POST on Tuesday.
“We were under the impression that the hearing would be set for May as agreed upon, as all parties would have been available.
“Upon finding out about the hearing and his date for release being decided, we contacted the area commissioner of the Kgosi Mampuru II Correctional Centre to make representation to the parole review board.
"His release was suspended pending the outcome of the parole review board, who will consider the representations made.”
One of the children, Khatija Ahmed, said they were young when their mother, Zahida, was killed in 1996.
“It was very difficult for us growing up without a mother. We have finally started living our lives. We are simply not prepared for his release.”
Ahmed was only 4 years old when her mother was killed. Her sister, Anjum Moosa, was 9 and their brother, Parvez Ahmed, was 6.
Sabadia made headlines when he was arrested for the killing of his wife, a medical student at the time.
Zahida went missing in February 1996. Her body was found 22 days later, tied to a tree in Ga-Rankuwa. Her husband led a team of detectives to the spot where she was killed after he had made a confession.
She had been strangled not far from where she and her husband were “hijacked” after buying food at a fast-food outlet.
It emerged that Sabadia had hired three hit men to murder his wife. He was sentenced to 50years’ imprisonment.
The hit men also received harsh prison sentences - Albert Moeketsane got 40years; Richard Malema, 25years; and Patrick Manyape received 25years, reduced to 15years on appeal.
Sabadia feels he is now entitled to his freedom because he has paid his dues.
But the words of the judge who sentenced him in 1998 came back to haunt him; it was recommended by the judge that Sabadia serve at least 35 years before parole was considered.
Sabadia turned to the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, in March for an urgent order that the parole board convene to consider his parole.
The board had denied him parole on at least two occasions. The court ordered that the board had to reconsider his parole within 30 days. It then decided he had to be released on June 20 .
But his children, who attended previous parole hearings and opposed his release, are now extremely upset that they were not informed of the latest parole hearing and given a chance to voice objections.
Khatija Ahmed said the reason she was opposed to her father’s parole was that this would send out the wrong message to the many others guilty of femicide.
“I am a big believer in the criminal justice system.
“His release will send out the wrong message. He only sat for 20 years and that is not long enough.
“We have just started our lives. We saw him for the first time since our mother was killed, during the parole hearing. He did not even apologise; instead we received an ice-cold look.”
Moosa said she was the one who said she wanted to see their father at the time. “I, on impulse, decided I wanted to see him.
“He walked into the room and looked straight ahead. He did not even make eye contact.
“I had a lot of anger, but it was almost as if he had become the victim. He simply looked away. As much as my mother was the victim, we, the children, were also victims. How do you do something like this to your children?”
Moosa said there was also an element of fear for the children if he was released.
“We made progress in life. We don’t want to regress.”
Ahmed said rehabilitation was all about acknowledging one’s mistakes and apologising.
She said she received a message a few years ago from someone who visited her father in jail, and in a letter to her blamed the killing on him being bipolar.
“He is shifting the blame and not facing what he did. I feel he is not ready to come out. Nor are we ready.”