Musa Mkhize
Murder accused Madhan Maharaj.
A woman who was murdered by her husband seven years ago was subjected to physical abuse from him, but every time she left him he persuaded her to return, saying he would change, the Pietermaritzburg Regional Court heard yesterday.
On one occasion, Madhan Maharaj, 49, “chopped” Caroline Rajah’s head, and on another he dragged her around and sjambokked her while she was pregnant, her sister Roslyn Rajah testified in aggravation of Maharaj’s sentence.
Caroline, 32, had returned to her husband of 10 years one week before her murder on September 2, 2005, having been separated from Maharaj for three months. He was arrested and charged, but escaped in May 2006, when he was undergoing a mental assessment at Fort Napier hospital in Pietermaritzburg.
He was still on the run when he was rearrested this week. Police found him when he made a statement regarding a burglary at Riverview Primary School in Phoenix, where he had worked as a caretaker.
When his name and statement were entered into the police data base, it showed that he was a fugitive, his attorney Jameel Vorajee explained.
On Tuesday, he pleaded guilty to her murder, and to escaping from custody.
Rajah said that, contrary to the happy picture painted of the couple by Maharaj, their |relationship had been fraught.
“He used to accuse her of having affairs. It was all a figment of his imagination… even if she [had] wanted to, she was too scared,” she said.
Although Rajah never witnessed any abuse, she often found her sister “bleeding and with blue eyes”.
Vorajee urged the court not to impose the applicable 15-year sentence, saying Maharaj was remorseful and had |pleaded guilty.
He said that Maharaj had a “very good relationship” with his wife and had been very protective of her.
Things only turned sour when he saw her holding another man’s hand, causing suspicion she was having an affair.
“This triggered the events that led to her being killed,” said Vorajee.
Maharaj told the court in his plea that he picked up a metal fishnet handle and assaulted her all over her body. When he stopped, she was still alive. He then left the house and, when he returned, the lights were off, so he went to sleep. He only discovered she was dead the next morning.
Vorajee added that the crime Maharaj had committed was “a crime of passion”.
The matter was adjourned until next week.
