A 39-year-old man has appeared in the Pietermaritzburg Magistrate’s Court in connection with the murder of his ex-wife, Aleyka Shaik. Keith Chetty made a brief appearance before Magistrate Sandile Ngwenya on Tuesday, where he was formally charged with murder. Chetty, dressed in a tracksuit top, looked around the courtroom, appearing to search for family members seated in the public gallery.
When asked if he understood the charge against him, he responded: “Yes.” Moments later, loud sobs broke out from his family in court. Shaik (34), a nurse, was stabbed on Sunday evening in Northdale after she went to fetch her seven-year-old daughter, allegedly from a relative of the accused. The court heard that Chetty will remain in custody until his formal bail application on April 7.
State prosecutor Philile Phoswa told the court that the accused’s profile and alternative address still need to be verified ahead of the bail application. Outside court, gender-based violence (GBV) activists called for additional charges, saying that Shaik was five months pregnant with twins at the time of her death. On Monday, family and friends gathered at a local church to pray for Shaik’s husband and young daughter, as grief and calls for justice continued to grow within the community.
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