Husband convicted of brutal screwdriver murder

Wife's family call for maximum sentence for years of abuse she suffered

- NADIA KHAN

NEARLY three years after Nazreen Fakier Cajee was brutally stabbed to death with a screwdriver in her Johannesburg home, her husband Shaheed Cajee has been convicted of murder.

Her family are now calling for the maximum sentence as they reflect on years of abuse suffered by the 39-year-old mother of three.

In December 2022, Nazreen was stabbed about 20 times at the Emmarentia home she shared with Shaheed, now 43, and their children, now aged 21, 15, and 11. According to reports, their son alerted a neighbour, who arrived at the home and found Nazreen's body.

Shaheed was found seated in the lounge and covered in blood. He was arrested and charged with her murder.

Shaheed was recently found guilty of murder in the Gauteng High Court.

Speaking to the POST this week, Nazreen's younger sister, Noëraan Fakier, said she was the centre of her family's world.

"She was a devoted mother, sister and friend who never stopped loving, even while living under the shadow of abuse. For nearly two decades, she endured the cruelty of an addicted and violent husband. In that time, she was denied the most basic human rights - to live in safety, to dream freely, and to raise her children without fear.

"My sister was the kindest of hearts, gentle, radiant, and full of grace. She had a smile that appeared even when no one else could manage one, and a love that reached far beyond herself. She lived a life of hope not only for her own better days, but for everyone around her," she said.

Fakier said some of her fondest memories was of spending time with Nazreen and her children.

She said she last spoke to Nazreen on her birthday in November that year.