It was a bittersweet moment when a man accused of dousing a mother of four with petrol and then setting her alight was found guilty, six years after the murder.
Elridge du Plessis, 37, pleaded not guilty to the murder of 44-year-old Mishkaah Fakier.
Mishkaah was left with 70 percent of burns to her body when she was attacked by Du Plessis in January 2018 in Hout Bay.
Mishkaah, who was also beaten during the ordeal, was hospitalised and managed to name her attacker before she died.
The State proved that Du Plessis planned to murder the mom after he accused her of stealing drugs from him.
At the Wynberg Regional Court on Friday, Du Plessis was found guilty of her murder.
His co-accused, Denzil du Plesis, 38, who is his cousin and who pleaded not guilty, was acquitted.
Eric Ntabazalila of the National Prosecuting Authority said: “I can confirm that accused one was convicted and accused two was found not guilty.
“The case has been postponed to June 7 for sentencing.”
Mishkaah’s family said they were happy with the verdict.
Relative Fadwah Vardien said: “His lawyer tried to paint a picture of him being a hero.
“It was very sad for us to hear how she had suffered and shocked to hear how she managed to walk with those injuries and tell a witness (about) who did it to her and what happened.
“It was traumatic and we are asking for the maximum sentence of life for him.
“We are grateful to the investigating officer who kept us informed from day one, it is very rare that you get police officers who stand by the family like he did and we commend him for that.”
genevieve.heunis@inl.co.za