Hitman jailed for life after attacking elderly couple on son-in-law's orders
A Cape Town man has been sentenced to two life terms for killing an elderly man and attacking his wife during morning prayer, in a paid hit ordered by the couple's son-in-law.
The High Court Western Cape Division handed Reagan Davis two life sentences and 15 years for the murder of 75-year-old Hashim Ahmed Dennis and the attempted murder of his 70-year-old wife, Kulsoem Dennis, and their daughter, Ibtisaam Dennis.
The attackers targeted the couple while they were preparing for the sunrise prayer.
Elderly couple targeted while preparing for sunrise prayers
Davis, 35, stood trial alongside the elderly couple's son-in-law, Brent Williams. However, Williams died on 10 February 2025, just before the state closed its case. After Williams died, the trial continued against Davis.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila said that senior state prosecutor Advocate Evadne Kortje proved that the murder was a contract killing and Davis was paid R1 000, which he used to buy takkies.
Kortje led evidence from 10 witnesses, which revealed that Williams and his wife, Ibtisaam Dennis, stayed with the elderly couple.
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Ntabazalila said the couple had two children and marital problems.
'Williams hired Davis and another man, unknown to the state, to invade and attack his in-laws to 'neutralise' his marital problems. At the time, the elderly couple stayed in a flatlet in the couple's yard,' Ntabazalila said.
CCTV footage showed Williams travelling with the two co-perpetrators in his red maroon bakkie to the area of 6 Conifer Close in the early hours of 31 January 2019. The son-in-law dropped Davis and the other man off and drove off to wait until they finished the job.
Son-in-law dropped perpetrators off near house
Davis and the other man gained access to the house through the security gate, which was not forced open.
Devout Muslim worshippers prepare for Fajr, or the sunrise prayer, at approximately four in the morning. Around the world, worshippers offer one of the five daily prayers of the Islamic faith. The taking of Wudu, which is the cleansing ritual required before praying, is the first step in each prayer.
Ntabazalila said that while the elderly husband was busy with the cleansing ritual in the bathroom, his wife was seated on the bed reciting passages from the Holy Quran before they would pray Fajr at 4.30am that day.
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The Dennis' normally open the sliding door of their flatlet so that their daughter or grandchildren could join the prayers or come in.
Kulsoem Dennis heard the voice of an intruder asking where the money was in Afrikaans before brutally attacking her. The intruder struck the wife on the head, neck, and chest with a firearm.
'She chanted, 'Allahu-Akbar' (God is Great) until she hit the floor. Severely injured and in shock, she lay on the floor, pretending to be dead as her burga (headscarf) fell softly over her face and she kept her eyes closed,' Ntabazalila said.
Wife pretended to be dead
According to the NPA, the wife heard shoving noises as the attackers ransacked the room. They assaulted Hashim Ahmed Dennis as he stepped out of the bedroom.
'When it quieted down, she got up and found her husband on the floor, deceased, bleeding from various stab wounds. He had 15 stab wounds,' Ntabazalila said.
The couple's daughter heard a noise and noticed a bright light from her parents' flatlet. When she went to investigate, she was met with a knife-wielding intruder who charged at her.
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Ibtisaam Dennis quickly turned around and closed the sliding door to the main house, saving herself and her two children.
CCTV footage showed the two attackers sprinting back to Williams' vehicle, getting in the bakkie and driving away shortly after the attack. The daughter called the police and her sister as she discovered the home invasion and the attack on her parents.
Ntabazalila said that the police investigation identified Williams as the mastermind behind the attacks. Williams was arrested on 20 May 2020.
Mastermind behind attack was the son-in-law
Police arrested Davis on 10 June 2020. He did not provide an alibi to the investigating officer.
In aggravation of the sentence, Advocate Kortje argued that the murder was premeditated, executed with direct intent and excessive force, and committed in the context of a robbery and housebreaking. He described it as a contract killing orchestrated by the son-in-law.
'The attempted murder of Mrs Dennis involved sadistic violence against a vulnerable and elderly woman at peace during a prayer in the bedroom of her home,' Ntabazalila said.
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The court sentenced Davis to:
15 years' direct imprisonment for housebreaking with intent to commit murder,
15 years for robbery with aggravating circumstances,
Life imprisonment for the attempted murder of the wife,
10 years for the attempted murder of the daughter, and
Life imprisonment for the premeditated murder of the husband.
It ordered the sentences of housebreaking with intent to commit murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances and attempted murder of Ibtisaam Dennis to run concurrently with the two life sentences.
Two life sentences and 15 years
The Western Cape Director of Public Prosecutions, Advocate Nicolette Bell, praised the investigation and prosecution team's efforts to bring justice to the victims.
'It can never be overemphasised how important human life is, and the NPA will continue being vigorous in its pursuit of these cases to serve as a deterrent to would-be murderers,' Bell assured.
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