‘Breathe for me, Mommy’
Man, 23, in court for allegedly running over woman multiple times
THE sight of his youngest sister holding their mother’s cold face in her hands, saying “Breathe for me, Mommy”, will forever be etched in the mind of Ramjaan Sheik Haniff.
His mom Salma, 43, suffered a gruesome death outside her home on Friday night after she was run over multiple times by a car allegedly driven by someone she knew.
Her 22-year-old daughter was inside the car at the time.
“He (the driver) knocked her but he didn’t stop. He went front and back and front and back over her, trying to do wheel spins,” said Salma’s shocked mother-in-law, Basanti Sheik, 66.
Mobeni Heights resident Rayen Siveshan Chetty, 23, appeared briefly in the Chatsworth Magistrate’s Court yesterday in connection with the matter.
Dressed in a grey sweatpants and a grey shirt, with the cotton swab of his hospital IV drip still stuck to his hand, Chetty sported dark circles around his eyes.
His sister, Shanelle Chetty, told POST he was assaulted by members of the community on Friday, shortly before he is alleged to have run over Salma.
He had since been admitted to hospital twice because of the extent of his external injuries, she said.
“He was dragged and he gets chest pains. He can’t eat properly. He lives in fear.”
An earlier argument had sparked the assault, she said.
A packed courtroom heard that the State would not be opposing bail. A decision on bail is expected to be made today.
Chetty’s family were out in full force in the courtroom to show support. His mother sat teary-eyed.
Chetty handed himself over to police on Sunday, two days after Salma Sheik Haniff, a Chatsworth mother of three, was killed.
Speaking to POST on Sunday, a day after her funeral, her family said they were shattered by what had happened on Friday night. Basanti Sheik said she witnessed the incident, which happened around 8pm.
“The driver was pulling the child in the car so she (Salma) went and stood on the side of the car to protect her daughter, but he started the car and reversed into her while the door was open,” she wept.
She said her daughter-in-law fell to the ground.
Salma’s distraught son Ramjaan said his mother was run over four times.
His father Afzal was also hit by the car when he tried to help his wife, he said.
Afzal is in a critical condition in hospital with three fractured ribs, a fractured spine and injuries on his face. The self-employed panel beater has been left paralysed, his son said. Ramjaan, 23, grieves for his mother. “She was the breadwinner in our home. She would always encourage us to be the best. She worked in a crèche but even after a long day at work she would come home and cook and ensure that we have all eaten before she sits for her meal,” he said.
He said he felt bad for his 14-year-old sister who had held on to their dying mom. “She is so young and she had to witness what happened to our mother. Even the doctors are concerned about her, they asked us to get her counselling.”
The elder sister, meanwhile, said she had received a backlash on social media as she was in the car at the time. Battling to hold back tears, she told POST she had had no control of the car.
“I wasn’t driving. I had no control in the car,” she said, requesting that she not be named. “Why would I even think of doing this to my own mom? We were very close and she was always there for me.”
Chetty, who is facing charges of murder, attempted murder and negligent driving, is yet to be tried in court and so remains innocent.
A close friend described him as a kindhearted and loving person.
“He was even close to the aunty,” said the friend, who asked not to be named.
Chetty’s mother, meantime, claims she has been receiving threatening messages since the incident.
She showed POST a message sent to her via WhatsApp: “Just remember b**** ur boy is not safe in hospital we got our people watchin his bed dont think ur safe our baby died for nothin now he’ll pay 4 what has happened tell your... hubby to bcareful cos hes next run ur b**** run” (sic).