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Reagan Davids sentenced to life for contract killing of elderly couple in Cape Town
Hashim Dennis, 75, was preparing for prayers when his contract killers struck.
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'This court is mindful of the horrors which would have gone through the young minds of the two minor children and the gruesome events which will forever be etched in their memories.'
These were the sentiments of Judge Gayaat Salie-Da Silva of the Western Cape High Court when she handed down two life sentences plus 15 years imprisonment to Reagan Davids for the brutal murder of 75-year-old Hashim Ahmed Dennis, and the attempted murder of his 70-year-old wife, Kulsoem Dennis.
Davids faced charges of housebreaking with intent to commit murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances, attempted murder of Kulsoem, attempted murder of Ibtisaam Dennis, and premeditated murder of Hashim Ahmed.
The main accused in the matter, Brent Williams, died on February 10 shortly before the conclusion of the murder trial.
Williams was the son-in-law of the Muslim couple who were attacked in their Northpine home near Brackenfell, Cape Town.
The elderly couple was getting ready for their morning prayer when the vicious attack occurred, and the now-widowed wife, Ibtisaam, barely survived the assault.
According to details that emerged during the trial, Williams had arranged the contract hit to 'neutralise' his marital problems he had been experiencing with Ibtisaam.
National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson, Eric Ntabazalila, said the two life sentences would run concurrently.
'Senior State Advocate Evadne Kortje proved that the murder was a contract killing and the accused was paid R1,000, which he used to buy takkies. Advocate Kortje presented evidence from 10 witnesses, which revealed that Brent Williams and his wife, Ibtisaam Dennis, stayed with the elderly couple on 6 Conifer Close, Northpine, Brackenfell.
'The couple had two children and were experiencing marital problems. Brent Williams hired Davis and another man, unknown to the State, to invade and attack his in-laws to 'neutralise' his marital problems. At the time, the elderly couple stayed in a flatlet in the couple's yard,' said Ntabazalila.
The court heard that in the early hours of January 31, 2020, Williams was observed through CCTV footage driving with the two co-perpetrators in his red maroon bakkie to the vicinity of 6 Conifer Close.
He dropped them and drove off to wait until they finished the job. They gained access to the property through a security gate, which was not forced open. The early hours of the morning, around 4am, are the time the devout Muslim worshippers prepare for Fajr - a sunrise prayer.
During the attack, Hashim suffered multiple stab wounds, while Kulsoem faked being dead after being hit on the head, neck, and chest with a gun before dropping to the floor, where her burka covered her face.
Ibtisaam heard a noise and noticed the bright light from her parents' flatlet. She went to investigate and met a knife-wielding intruder who charged at her. She quickly turned around and closed the sliding door to the main house, saving herself and her two children. Moments after the attack, CCTV footage captured the two attackers running back to Williams, getting in the bakkie, then driving off.
Judge Salie-Da Silva in judgment said: 'These offences are marked by exceptional brutality, targeting vulnerable elderly victims in a sanctified setting. The level of violence, disregard for human life, and the psychological terror inflicted upon the surviving victims and, so too, the surrounding community, warrant the imposition of a long period of direct imprisonment…
'The proverbial saying that fact is stranger than fiction is a startling and disturbing feature of the events which took place in the early morning hours of Friday, 31 January 2020, and at the home of the victims. This court is mindful of the horrors which would have gone through the young minds of the two minor children and the gruesome events which will forever be etched in their memories.'
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