‘MY DAUGHTER ABUSED ME’
So says 72-year-old mom accused of plotting her child’s killing
DEVIKA Rani Seeripat, a 73-year-old mother accused of plotting her daughter’s murder, testified before the High Court, sitting in Scottburgh, that her daughter Ashrika Seeripat, 42, physically and emotionally abused her over a 30-year period.
In July last year Ashrika was found strangled to death during what was initially believed to be a robbery at her home in Kadville Heights, Umzinto.
Ashrika was an aspiring actress who featured in the movie Broken Promises 2.
She lived with her parents for most of her life at their home. When her father, Ramjathan, died in July 2021, she lived with her mother.
According to the indictment, the relationship between the two women became acrimonious after the father’s death.
The state is trying to prove that Seeripat planned to kill Ashrika and sought the help of the gardener, Madodandina Mkula, 42.
On July 7 last year, Mkula entered the home. Seeripat was not at home. Bongi Mbili, 54, the domestic worker, pointed out to him that Ashrika was in the bedroom. He allegedly entered the room and strangled Ashrika to death.
He then asked Mbili about the payment he had been promised from Devika. She showed him where the money was. He took it and left.
Seeripat, Mkula and Mbili have all been charged with murder. However, Mbili is a state witness. Judge Jacqui Hendricks is hearing the matter and Mziwodumo Miza is the prosecutor.
On Monday, Warrant Officer Mervin Moonsamy, a detective from the Umzinto SAPS, testified.
He said that when he arrived at the house, it was in disarray.
“Cupboards were open, clothing and bedding were strewn across the floor. I got to a third bedroom and noticed two single beds apart. I saw a female in between the beds. Paramedics later declared her dead.”
Moonsamy testified that Mbili initially claimed there had been a robbery and the suspects had fled.
She claimed her phone had also been stolen and she had alerted Seeripat to the robbery using her son’s phone which was with her.
Moonsamy’s suspicions were raised when he asked Mbili to unlock the phone she had used but she did not know the code.
When he later interviewed Mbili at the police station, she allegedly claimed that Seeripat had planned the killing and was assisted by Mkula.
Cellphone records also showed that Seeripat, Mkula and Mbili had been in contact with each other days before the incident, as well as on the day of the killing.
Shaheen Seedat, the attorney representing Seeripat, asked Moonsamy under cross examination to describe her emotional state.
“She was seated in the lounge,” he said. “She was emotional but not hysterical.”
Advocate Trisha Citera, representing Mkula, told the court that while his client admitted that Seeripat had approached him to kill Ashrika, he did not get involved.
On Tuesday, Seeripat took the stand. She was fragile and needed assistance to walk. Wiping tears with a facecloth, she pleaded not guilty to killing her daughter.
Seeripat testified that Ashrika started showing signs of OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder) from the age of 16.
“She began developing set ways, like her bed had to be set in a certain way, and she would get angry if it was in a different way. We took her to a psychiatrist who said she was OCD.”
Seeripat said her daughter did receive treatment and, at one stage, underwent rehabilitation.
“Ashrika was happy with the medication but the abuse was not any less. She would always hit me on the left side of my face. In one incident, Ashrika fisted me on the face, which resulted in me losing my sight and hearing on the left side. My eye was bleeding at the back. The doctor had to operate and put a valve inside.”
Devika said that on Christmas Eve in 2017, Ashrika hit her with the buckle of a bag because she (Seeripat) suggested they get her Christmas present from a local store in Umzinto.
“When people asked me what happened, I said I got hit on a friend’s car door. My face was blue and black.
“At times she would push me against the wall or door. If I did anything that did not suit her, she would make me stand in the corner like a disobedient child for hours.”
Seeripat claimed that on another occasion, Ashrika hit her against the wall and called her an idiot because she did not know who Elon Musk was.
“When she was not using her hands to hit me, she would use whatever was around to hit me, whether it was a shoe or hanger.”
Seeripat said the abuse stopped for about five months after her husband’s death.
But it changed in November that year when Seeripat booked a room at a local hotel to celebrate Ashrika’s birthday.
Seeripat testified that Ashrika became upset when her mother did not say the room was beautiful.
She said her daughter also got upset and smacked her when she discovered that her mother had changed their medical aid to a cheaper option and it would not cover her for plastic surgery.
Seeripat said her daughter studied creative arts for six months at Unisa after matric. She then went to America to work as an au pair but returned home after just a month.
She also studied hospitality and acting.
“She had distinctions in all the things she studied but she did not pursue a career in anything. She had a very manipulative character. She would not only physically abuse me, she was also verbally and emotionally abusive to me.
“It was not acceptable for a mother to be treated that way. I was abused for 30 years.”
The trial continues.