Cape Town - Najwa Dirk, the woman who was the mastermind behind her husband, Cape music legend Taliep Petersen’s murder nearly 18 years ago, has been granted parole - a decision met with relief and disappointment as his siblings say they are considering an appeal.
It is understood Dirk will face strict parole conditions, which the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) have yet to confirm.
These include whether she is deemed a flight risk, or will be under house arrest.
Dirk was sentenced to 28 years behind bars for the December 16, 2006, murder of Petersen at their Grasmere Street home in Athlone.
During the murder trial, Dirk pleaded not guilty, claiming robbers shot and killed Petersen.
She faced the parole board yesterday, after months of attending sessions with social workers, psychologists and psychiatrists, while reports from criminologists, which formed part of the Correctional Services Parole Board process, were submitted to evaluate and assess her emotional and mental state.
Correctional Services national spokesperson, Singabakho Nuxumalo, said their office was yet to receive confirmation of the decision, yesterday.
“Parole boards are mandated to send us the reports after completing parole consideration sessions. We have no report on Najwa by the parole board as yet,” Nuxumalo said.
Parole officials are also expected to carry out a Community Imbizo engagement in Athlone soon, but have yet to provide details.
Sharon Classen of the Athlone Community Policing Forum (CPF) confirmed they were briefed on the meeting with residents, but could not divulge anything further.
“The community engagement must happen and discussions with role players happened today and I am not at liberty to discuss the outcome,” she said.
Petersen’s daughters, Fatiema Petersen, A’eesha Petersen, his sister, Maatoema Groenmeyer, her husband Naasief Groenemeyer, brother, Igshaan Petersen and Dirk’s family including her son, Sulaiman Effendi, have all been part of the parole proceedings until it reached the climax yesterday, with the news that she had been granted parole.
Yesterday, Fatiema and A’eesha said they were still trying to process the news and could not speak yet.
The daughters previously told the Cape Argus sister publication, the Weekend Argus, during an exclusive interview, that they had forgiven Dirk and that she needed help psychologically.
The daughters said they needed to set themselves free of the hate and resentment for the sake of their baby sister, Zaynub Petersen, who still needed her mother.
They added that Dirk had given them closure during the Victim Offender Dialogue in August, where she admitted she had “a partial involvement” in their father’s murder, and if she did not allow a dodgy deal to be brought to their home, none of it would have happened.
Maatoema Groenmeyer told the Cape Argus yesterday that the news was overwhelming and they would be seeking legal counsel to oppose it.
“We are disgusted and appalled at the decision of the parole board,” she said.
“If they say she is a flight risk, then why give her parole?
“I am trying to wrap my head around it. My brother Igshaan is not happy. He told the chairperson ‘you’ve made your decision and I will appeal it’. Where is the justice?
“Even the criminologist and psychologist’s report found her not to be remorseful and still in denial that she was the mastermind and very manipulative.
“My brother did not get the justice he deserved; she spent 16 years as a convicted prisoner.”
Maatoema added that Dirk had been given another lifeline while Petersen’s children were robbed of their father.
“She will be under house arrest and there are a lot of conditions attached to her parole such as they see her as a flight risk,” she said.
Dirk's co-accused, Waheed Hassen, received 25 years imprisonment.
Abdoer Emjedi, also a co-accused, was sentenced to 24 years behind bars in 2009 and served his minimum term after being convicted of murder and robbery with aggravating circumstances. Emjedi was released on parole in 2020.
Another co-accused, Jefferson Snyders, who was convicted of aggravated robbery and was sentenced to ten years and acquitted of the murder, died years later.
Hassen also met with the parole board in 2021.