Najwa Petersen was not mentally ill when she allegedly killed her husband, Taliep, and is fit to stand trial, a Cape Town regional magistrate ruled on Friday.
The finding, based on the unanimous reports of three psychiatrists, cleared the way for Petersen and her three co-accused to go on trial in the Cape High Court in February next year.
They are accused of shooting Taliep, a prominent theatre personality and entertainer, in the couple’s Athlone home on the night of December 16 last year.
There was evidence during Petersen’s unsuccessful bail application that she had repeatedly attempted suicide, and underwent a course of shock therapy last year.
Magistrate Robert Henney last month referred her for 30 days’ observation at the Valkenberg Psychiatric Hospital in Cape Town.
He said on Friday that two Valkenberg specialist psychiatrists, plus one appointed by the defence, had agreed that Petersen was fit to stand trial and could be held criminally responsible for her actions.
They had found she was not, by reason of mental illness or defect, incapable of understanding court proceedings, or incapable of mounting a proper defence.
The panel had also found that at the time of the commission of the offence for which she is accused, Petersen had not been mentally ill.
The case was postponed to September 20 for further investigation.
All four accused are in custody; Henney on Friday ordered that Petersen be held in the hospital section of the women’s prison at Pollsmoor.
The other three are Abdoer Emjedi, Jefferson Snyders and Waheed Hassen. — Sapa