‘He wouldn’t even hurt a fly’
MINAH Padi is still in complete shock and disbelief.
Months may have passed since her son Aubrey Padi was charged with the murder of his estranged wife Tamara, but the 67 year old is still battling to come to terms with the fact that he is capable of murder.
“To be honest I’m still in shock as to what state of mind my son was in because we never thought that he was capable of committing murder as we know him as a person who wouldn’t even hurt a fly,” a shocked Minah told the Saturday Star this week.
Earlier this month Aubrey, 46, was sentenced in the Manchester Crown Court in the UK to life in prison. The couple, originally from South Africa, had moved to Manchester in 2005, a year after they got married. Padi will only be eligible for parole in 23 years.
The court had heard of a murder that was sadistic, coldly calculating and brutal. How Padi had carefully planned his attack on his estranged wife, even lying in wait for hours for her to return home on the night of July 7.
The former South African navy employee had gone so far as to set an alarm on his phone so he could take a nap and wake up when his wife was asleep.
The court heard how Padi “concealed himself” in Tamara’s home after letting himself in, armed with knives, a hammer, gloves and a length of cord.
On the fateful night Tamara had arrived home with a colleague at 1.30am and the two had gone to bed.
After being woken by his 3.30am alarm, Padi “set about” his wife with a metal “pull up exercise bar”, the court heard.
He then left her bedroom and returned to stab her eight times with one of the two kitchen knives he had brought with him.
This happened while their children Pulane Tia, 16, and Mashila Mia, 11, slept in the next bedroom. The colleague found Tamara seriously injured and she later died in hospital.
Minah, who hails from Atteridgeville township in Pretoria, said while she was unsure of what led to the murder, she did know her son was “heartbroken” at the time.
“Aubrey was constantly complaining about his wife’s behaviour and her extramarital affairs, and she hardly slept at home on weekends as she was a well-known party animal,” said Minah.
“Last year she was impregnated by another man and my son told me so, and in December she came home to visit us. I even asked her about her pregnancy and she admitted that she was pregnant.
“Then in February this year she terminated her pregnancy.
She later moved out of the house they were staying as a family and bought herself an apartment so that she could be free with her boyfriend and party as much as she wanted.”
The court however heard how Padi had become increasingly violent. On the day before Tamara’s murder, he punched her in the face after she refused him the use of her cellphone.
While she claimed her son had been through “a lot” with his wife, Minah said she and her family did not condone Padi’s horrible actions.
“What really transpired is still shocking and it has given me and my family sleepless nights. I’m constantly sick, and I have been in and out of the doctor’s surgery. We as a family do not condone what my son did, it’s a big mistake and we are very sorry and we also would like to extend our sincere apologies to the Mntuyedwa family (Tamara’s family).
“I loved Tamara very, very much, and I took her as my daughter.”
Minah does however feel that the judge’s decision to hand her son a life sentence was harsh, and said he was not given a fair trial.
“We feel that constitutional rights or basic human rights were not considered. A case of this magnitude wasn’t supposed to continue without legal representation by an attorney or advocate. Also, other witnesses were not summoned. Even his kids were supposed to give testimony,” she said.
“And even the psychologist who assessed him was not summoned to give his/her analysis regarding his mental state before and after the incident.”
The couple’s two children are currently being cared for by a friend of Tamara’s in the UK.
Minah said she was incredibly concerned about her grandchildren being in a foreign country without any family.
“I’m very worried about their welfare as they’re currently staying with Millie, Tamara’s friend, who’s from Zimbabwe and the family doesn’t know her and worse (she) refused to hand over the kids to Aubrey’s closest friend,” she said.
“What surprises us is the fact that we wrote a letter to social services in the UK stating our dissatisfaction and that my son indicated that his daughters must go stay with his closest friend, Nomalanga, but she refused to hand over the kids.
“We had access to my granddaughters but after the sentencing it’s quite difficult to contact them. The social workers in the UK contacted us regarding the kids’ issue and we have appointed my sister as their guardian and she was interviewed over the phone for assessment.
“To our surprise the process has stalled and we feel this is very unfair and discriminatory.”