Convicted murderer Rameez Patel will remain in prison after the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) dismissed his application for leave to appeal against his conviction and life sentence. The ruling, delivered last week, brings another legal setback for Patel, who was found guilty of murdering his first wife, Fatima Patel. The SCA found there were no grounds to hear the appeal.
Patel lodged the application from prison on 12 May through his attorney, Saleem Khan. He sought to challenge both his conviction and the sentence imposed by the Limpopo High Court in December 2025. However, the appeal court rejected the application.
“The application for leave to appeal is dismissed on the grounds that there are no reasonable prospects of success and there is no other compelling reason why an appeal should be heard.”
Supreme Court Of Appeal Rejects Rameez Patel’s Appeal Bid
Patel asked the court for parts of the judgment to be reconsidered by another court. He maintained the stance he adopted throughout his trial, insisting he was not guilty of Fatima’s 2015 murder. The SCA was not persuaded by his arguments.
Following the dismissal of the application, Patel’s R250 000 bail was revoked and he was taken into custody. He is serving a life sentence imposed by Judge Joseph Raulinga in December 2025 for the premeditated murder of his wife.
In addition to life imprisonment, Patel received five years for possessing an unlicensed firearm and three years for illegal possession of ammunition. The court also declared him unfit to own a firearm.
Judge Says Rameez Patel Showed ‘Zero Remorse’
When sentencing Patel, Raulinga said all relevant factors had been considered before reaching a decision. He described the killing as one of Limpopo’s most disturbing femicide cases. The judge also said Patel had shown no remorse for the crime.
Before sentencing, Patel’s lawyer filed urgent applications requesting a summary of the pre-sentence report and asking that his client’s bail be extended. Khan argued that Patel, as the sole proprietor of his business, needed time to arrange his affairs before beginning his sentence.
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Raulinga dismissed the request, saying it would not be in the interests of justice to grant bail.
“Mr Patel, your wife is no more, and you know better than us what happened. You killed her. But for now, Mr Patel, I can’t allow you to go out. Your application fails, and the bail is revoked, and you must go into incarceration.”
Evidence In Fatima Patel Murder Case Detailed In Court
Fatima Patel was found dead in a pool of blood at the couple’s home in Nirvana, Limpopo, after they allegedly argued.
Medical evidence presented during the trial showed she suffered severe blunt force trauma before being fatally shot. A cricket bat recovered from the ceiling of the apartment was identified as a possible weapon.
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Forensic pathologist Dr Thakadu Mamashela testified that Fatima had been strangled and sustained injuries that dislocated her jaw before she was executed with a single gunshot to the head.
Patel has also previously faced other serious allegations. A murder case relating to the death of his mother, Muhajeen, was provisionally withdrawn in 2021 because of insufficient evidence. His father, Firoz Patel, died during an unsolved robbery, while Yunus Mayet, the father of Patel’s current wife, Nasreen, was kidnapped and murdered. In 2018, Patel’s brother, Razeen, was shot dead days before he was due to testify against him.
