Parole for wife of murdered musician to be reviewed

Correctional Services Minister Pieter Groenewald has suspended Najwa Petersen’s parole and has asked for the matter to be reviewed. It has been referred to the Correctional Supervision and Parole Review Board (CSPRB), reports TimesLIVE. Earlier this month, the Pollsmoor parole board placed Petersen, the mastermind behind the murder of her legendary musician husband Taliep Petersen, on parole from November. Groenewald said on Friday the CSPRB was tasked with reviewing the decision and must confirm or replace it with its own decision. ‘This referral suspends the decision to place her on parole, effective from 27 November, pending the outcome of the CSPRB.’ Petersen was handed a 28-year prison sentence for her role in orchestrating her husband's murder in 2006 in a staged robbery at their home in Athlone, Cape Town. She began her sentence in 2009 after she was found guilty of murder and robbery with aggravating circumstances. Western Cape High Court judge Siraj Desai, during sentencing at the time, said the musician had been tied up and ‘cold bloodedly’ killed. He described the murder as an act of ‘sheer savagery’. Groenewald said the matter was referred to the representatives of Taliep’s family, while referencing the Marius van der Westhuizen’s case. ‘The discrepancies in Marius van der Westhuizen’s case have led to a lack of public trust. As a result, I am exercising my discretion under the provisions of the Act to ensure that parole boards consider all reports comprehensively to prevent future occurrences of such issues,’ said Groenewald. In June, the board granted parole to former policeman Van der Westhuizen, who is serving a 24-year sentence after being convicted of the murder of his three minor children. He was to have been released on 31 July after serving 13 years. However, the review board in August overturned the parole board's decision.

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