Mom guilty of killing daughter
THE abuse of the elderly in the Indian community is not being reported to the police because the victims are afraid of being humiliated and embarrassed.
This is according to the lawyer representing Devika Rani Seeripat, a 73-yearold woman who was found guilty of murdering her daughter, Ashrika Seeripat, 42.
Her co-accused, Patrick Mkula, 42, who worked as a gardener for the family, was also found guilty of the murder.
At the time of her death in July last year, Ashrika was unemployed but had previously worked as an actress. She was strangled to death at her home in Kadville Heights, Umzinto, in what was made to appear a robbery.
However, in the days thereafter, police arrested her mother, Mkula and their domestic helper, Bongi Mbili, 54. Mbili subsequently turned State witness.
During the trial, which began in March this year, it emerged that Ashrika suffered from obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and for years had physically, verbally and mentally abused her mother.
Seeripat, represented by attorney Shaheen Seedat, testified that Ashrika had used money from her late dad’s estate to make online purchases. She also demanded some of the money for cosmetic surgery.
Seeripat could not afford such expenses but was too afraid to tell Ashrika. Instead, she decided to kill her child.
She contacted Mkula, who agreed to kill Ashrika for R10000.
She paid him a deposit of R5000, and a day before the killing, she went to an
DEVIKA Rani Seeripat, above, was found guilty of murdering her daughter, Ashrika Seeripat.
ATM to get the rest. However, she had a withdrawal limit of R3 000, and had to borrow R2 000 from Mbili.
The arrangement was that once Ashrika had been killed by Mkula, Mbili would call the police and claim it was a robbery.
Mbili described Seeripat as being “calm” when she left home on the morning of the killing.
She testified that she let Mkula into the house. He went to Ashrika’s bedroom, where he strangled her to death.
The case was investigated by Warrant Officer Mervin Moonsamy, a detective at the Umzinto SAPS.
He testified that Mbili claimed she used her son’s phone to call and alert the police of the supposed robbery.
However, his suspicions were raised when he asked Mbili to unlock the phone, and she was not able to do so.
She later confessed to her part in the killing and implicated the other two.
Mkula, who was represented by advocate Trisha Citera, denied knowledge of the killing, but the evidence proved otherwise.
Judge Jacqui Hendricks found that the State, represented by advocate Mziwodumo Miza, had proven that both Seeripat and Mkula had acted in common purpose and were, therefore, guilty of murder.
Before deciding on a sentence, the judge is awaiting reports from the Department of Social Services and Correctional Services.
The matter was adjourned to October. Seeripat’s bail was extended. However, she has to report to the Umzinto SAPS every Friday and is not allowed to make an application for a passport. Mkula remains in custody. Following the guilty verdict, Seedat said: “I respect the judgment, but this case reflects a deeper issue within the Indian community where elderly parents are being abused verbally, physically and emotionally by their children for various reasons.
“Some reasons are to support drug habits. Parents are abused to a point where the parents give money to buy the drugs. They also steal their parents’ possessions to sell or pawn for drugs.”
He said, in this case, Ashrika had been abusing her mother for more than 30 years, physically, emotionally and verbally.
“Mr Seeripat passed on, and the abuse exceeded. Ashrika started controlling the money left by Mr Seeripat with wild, extravagant shopping sprees.
“Monies ran out. She had demanded the credit card details. On July 5, she took her mother off her bed, tramped her on the chest and smothered her with a pillow. This was the straw that broke the camel’s back.
“The underlying problem in the Indian community, where the elderly are being abused, is that they do not report it to authorities as they always say ‘keep it within the confines of the home’. The public must not know because of the humiliation and embarrassment to the family name.
“This mindset has to stop. Elderly people sacrifice their lives for their children, to raise them. They cannot be abused by the children.
“We need to have workshops and invite the elderly to teach them to turn to the authorities for protection or people within the family.
“We deal with battered women syndrome but, in this case, it is battered parent syndrome.”
Lindiwe Mbethe, Mkula’s sister, said: “We are not satisfied with the outcome of the court’s decision.
“She (Seeripat) betrayed my brother. She manipulated him and used him. She used his financial situation as an opportunity, because she knew my brother was desperate for money. She initiated everything.
“My brother has a baby and four other children. He was the breadwinner in the family.
“His wife is taking strain. She is not working, and the stress from the case has resulted in her being admitted to hospital.”
ATTORNEY Shaheen Seedat speaks to Devika Rani Seeripat.