The trial of alleged wife killer Ahmed Darwish (in his 40s) from Wellington was once again postponed in the Paarl Regional Court on Thursday (17 November) after the appointed Arabic interpreter failed to appear.
The court case now stands in a precarious position, as there is a possibility that the regional magistrate, Fezile Tonisi, may strike the case from the court roll should the interpreter continue to be absent. Such an outcome would result in Darwish’s release from custody, where he is currently being held.
The postponement comes against the backdrop of the planned national shutdown on 21 November, during which South Africans are expected to turn purple in a show of solidarity against gender-based violence (GBV) and femicide.
Ahmed was arrested in Wellington on 11 February 2021 and charged with the brutal murder of his wife, Heilay Darwish (35), by slitting her throat with a blunt object. The murder took place in the married couple’s home in Lillian Street, Wellington on the same day Ahmed, originally from Egypt, was arrested.
Heilay, who had given birth to the couple’s son in November 2020, was on maternity leave and preparing to return to her role as an admin manager at a local Shoprite in April 2021 at the time she was murdered.
The state prosecutor, William da Grass, informed the court that the prosecution was ready to proceed and seven witnesses – including two police officers – were prepared to testify against Ahmed. He argued that the translator’s failure to appear should not serve as grounds for further delay.
He said an Arabic translator was arranged for Ahmed’s court hearing and the court was in Mitchell’s Plain, Cape Town on Monday (17 November) to pick the translator up, only to hear the person in question was in Tygerberg Hospital. Tonisi subsequently ruled that a medical certificate from the hospital be provided as proof to the court.
Paarl Post previously reported that Ahmed spoke a specific Arabic dialect that proved difficult to find a translator for.
READ: Court postpones Darwish murder trial to November
Da Grass told the court Heilay’s family had indicated they had spoken to Ahmed in English on numerous occasions and that he could even speak “basic Afrikaans”. According to him the investigative officer also indicated to the state that the accused could understand English.
“The language issue is being exploited by the accused,” Da Grass said, noting this was not the first time proceedings had been postponed or made more difficult due to challenges in securing a translator for an accused who is able to speak English.
Ahmed’s legal representative, Robyn Diedericks of Legal Aid South Africa, told the court that while it was true the accused could speak English he nonetheless required a translator to interpret complex terms and phrases into Arabic, which is his mother tongue.
The defence further argued that the court had previously indicated that translation services would not be difficult to secure and therefore insisted the proceedings could not continue without an interpreter present. In response the state noted that an interpreter had been arranged each time one was requested, but that the translator had repeatedly failed to appear.
In response, Da Grass said it understood that the court should “respect the rights of the accused, but the family [of the deceased] is re-traumatised when they attend court proceedings and nothing happens.”
The regional magistrate noted that the matter had already been postponed several times, but said he was compelled to grant a further postponement as Arabic translation services were required. He ruled that the case be postponed to 30 March 2026 to allow for an interpreter to be secured once again.
The deceased’s family told Paarl Post that they are “disappointed at the outcome” of the court proceedings.
