Taliep Petersen: A tale of two wives

On stage he had the world at his feet, but the story of his own life read like the script of a tragedy.

Composer and musician Taliep Petersen took a personal tale of love, lies and betrayal with him to the grave.

His wife, Najwa, arrested this week in Cape Town for allegedly orchestrating his murder, was once good friends with his first wife, Madeegha - until she took her place.

Najwa had also allegedly implicated the musician in a diamond-smuggling racket and once stabbed him in the neck while he slept.

The singer and composer of hits like District Six: The Musical and Kat and the Kings was killed on December 16 last year, allegedly by hit men Najwa paid to wipe him out.

The couple's relationship started as controversially as it ended.

Ten years ago, Petersen and Madeegha were a married couple. They had fallen in love when she was cast in his award-winning District Six: The Musical. She had hung up her dancing shoes, converted to Islam and they had married.

The couple performed a pilgrimage to Mecca together and had four children - three girls and a boy. His career started skyrocketing.

But the marriage didn't last.

Petersen's father, Mogamat Ladien, said Najwa and Madeegha were good friends, but "Najwa would come and visit [Taliep] especially in the morning, without Madeegha knowing Najwa was interfering in her marriage".

Ladien said he didn't get along with his first daughter-in-law.

"Madeegha and I didn't have a good understanding. When I visited she would open the door, wouldn't greet and simply walk to the kitchen. This upset Taliep. He told her once: 'You are not going to bring my father down to your level. Either you go up to his level but my father will never go down to yours.'"

Ladien said his son struggled to make the marriage work.

"He told me, 'Boeja, I've been trying for eight years with her - to bring her right.' But then he saw that it was not going to work out and he left her."

Madeegha could not be reached for comment this week, but in an interview with the Sunday Times last year, she chose to speak about her ex-husband's love for their children, rather than about the failed marriage.

After the two split, Najwa was waiting in the wings. She and Petersen married and later had a daughter.

Petersen's father said: "I liked Najwa. She was very nice and would always have a bright smile and would hug me when she saw me."

But his opinion of her changed dramatically last year. " One night while he [Taliep] was sleeping she was still wandering around in the house. When he woke blood was oozing from his neck, and he still said to me: 'Boeja, I thought I was going to die.'

"He went to hospital but not to the police station. I don't know why, but he decided to move on."

Ladien said Taliep's four eldest children were so afraid of their stepmother that they moved out of the house . Understandably, Petersen, too, was afraid of his wife.

"He told me he didn't want to pray with her because she has to stand behind him when they pray and he was afraid that she might hurt him again," said Ladien. "He also moved to another room."

According to Ladien, Petersen also had problems with his in-laws, who he often had to bail out financially.

Najwa's family owns Dirk Fruit, which exports fruit and vegetables to Namibia.

Last week, Najwa's brother, Shamil Dirk, was arrested for bribing a Namibian customs official and faces as many as 25 years in jail for corruption.

The director of Namibia's Anti-Corruption Commission, Paulus Noa, said Dirk had paid more than N$700000 into the bank account of Stephanus Owoseb's 12-year-old son. In turn, Dirk didn't have to pay duties when his trucks entered Namibia.

Noa said they started investigating the company in December last year.

Petersen's brother Muneeb said his sister-in-law had paid his father a visit last year.

"She told my father that [Taliep] was involved in diamond smuggling. This upset my father and he confronted Taliep. But Taliep assured him that this wasn't true," said Muneeb.

In May last year, police spokesman Superintendent Billy Jones said Petersen had received death threats and a case was opened at Athlone Police Station - but nothing came of the investigation.

Ladien said that after his son's death, Najwa showed little emotion.

"I asked her if she missed him at all. And she said only at night. She never shed a tear when I was there. She doesn't wear a headscarf, but when the mayor [Helen Zille] came to the funeral, Najwa was dressed in a parda. Her whole face was covered and she was crying.

"When they carried his body out of the house, she was standing at the door, took off her parda and lit a cigarette," he said.

In court on Thursday, Najwa's lawyer argued that she suffered from bipolar mood disorder and her psychiatrist feared that she might have a relapse while in custody.

It was revealed that she had a history of mental illness and had been admitted to several clinics.

Police captain Joash Dryden told the court that in the last three months Najwa had been "making herself pretty" with the help of liposuction.

He told the court that he found it strange that she was sick now, and called her a "good actress".

And Petersen's father said: "She is acting. It is all an act. She is fine ...

"I still cannot come to grips with what had happened. Taliep was not just my son, he was my best friend."

Najwa's bail application will continue on Tuesday.