“The loss of my son is something I will carry for the rest of my life,” Law said, fighting back tears, as she was supported in the High Court at Hamilton by her mother.
“Emotionally, this has left me with overwhelming grief and deep sadness … and struggle with the reality that my child is no longer here.”
Ali was someone, at the time, she trusted to leave her son with, and the pain of her loss was at times unbearable.
She had since chosen to forgive Ali, but only “because my faith teaches me to do so and God calls me to forgive”.
Law, a Christian, urged the judge to hand down a sentence that not only reflected the seriousness of what happened but also acted as a deterrent to others.
Ali, who remained emotionless throughout the 90-minute hearing, was set to defend the charges, but on the eve of his trial in February this year pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of manslaughter, along with two charges relating to assaults on his partner between February 2023 and June 2024.
‘Terminate the baby’
Ali didn’t want a child.
After learning of his new partner’s pregnancy in January 2023, he “immediately expressed concern” and encouraged her to terminate it.
However, she wanted the baby and initially misled Ali, who believed that she had miscarried.
Ali became aware that she was still pregnant some months later after finding a photo of her pregnancy scan, which she had hidden from him.
The pair argued and Ali slapped her about the face “repeatedly” before pushing her down on the bed, placing his hands on her upper chest and around her neck.
He then jumped on top of her with his knees on her abdomen.
She didn’t require hospitalisation, and her unborn baby was not harmed.
The couple married in mid-July 2023 after meeting in September 2022, shortly before their son’s birth.
Their relationship remained “volatile” and, on several occasions, Ali pushed or punched her.
‘Stressed and angry’
On June 8, 2024, Law woke to their son crying at 6am. She settled him in bed between her and Ali and went back to sleep.
She got up at 8am, leaving the child sleeping with Ali at 10.50am.
She asked Ali to give their son a bath and feed him before family celebrations later that afternoon.
Mustafa had been unwell during the days prior, with a high temperature.
Mukzameel Ali, 24, in the dock of the High Court at Hamilton this morning. Photo / Belinda Feek
Some time after his partner left, Ali fed Mustafa a bottle and some Weet-Bix. The baby vomited and was unsettled.
Ali tried to feed him again later in the morning, unsuccessfully.
Frustrated, Ali attempted to force-feed Mustafa his bottle, causing prominent bruises to his chin.
Unable to feed or settle him, Ali became “stressed and angry”.
It was during this time that Ali caused the fatal injury through a violent blow to his abdomen.
At 2.16pm, his partner returned and was met at the front door of the house by Ali holding Mustafa in his arms. The toddler was “floppy and cold to the touch”.
His partner grabbed the baby and ran outside for help before the couple drove directly to Te Kūiti Hospital.
Mustafa was pronounced dead shortly after arrival. He died as a result of a crushing injury to his abdomen, lacerating his liver and the wall of his large bowel in two locations.
There was also bruising to his diaphragm, small bowel mesentery, and the back of his abdominal wall.
The injury to Mustafa’s liver was so severe that the bleeding into his abdomen would have started immediately after the injury was inflicted and continued uninterrupted until he died.
Mukzameel Ali holding his son, Mustafa. Photo / Supplied
Court documents state that given the extent of his injury, it was unlikely that Mustafa would have survived longer than 30 to 60 minutes, possibly less.
When initially spoken to by police, Ali said his son began to choke while feeding him, and the injury was likely caused by his subsequent attempt to perform CPR.
A post-mortem found that Mustafa had abscesses around either side of his larynx, and it was likely that eating Weet-Bix would have caused him “significant discomfort”.
He also had bruising behind each of his ears and a large bruise on top of his head.
‘He was trying to help, initially, at least’
Ali’s counsel, Rosalind Brown, said that although her client didn’t admit fault until the eve of the trial, she urged the judge to still grant a 20% to 25% discount for a guilty plea.
She said Ali wanted to plead as early as December 2025 but, due to a miscommunication with the Crown, that didn’t happen until earlier in the new year.
“This situation is a tragedy. There’s no getting away from that,” she said, “and Mr Ali accepts responsibility for his actions, which led to that tragedy.”
However, Ali did lacked the maturity or life skills to deal with the situation he was in.
A mourner holds Mustafa Ali’s photo during his funeral at the St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Te Kuiti on June 13, 2024. Photo / Mike Scott
On that day, he had been trying to feed his son and “initially at least” was trying to save him, but then accepted “frustration took over, and he inflicted a significant blow to his abdomen”.
She also suggested that it could be inferred that when Law returned home, Ali was in fact leaving to seek medical help.
While Mustafa’s death could have taken between 30 and 90 minutes, expert evidence concluded it could have occurred more quickly, she said.
The incident was also a “one-off”, and Brown pushed for a starting point of between five and six years’ jail, along with credits for his youth, rehabilitation attempts, remorse, previous good character, and time on electronically monitored bail.
‘This was extreme violence’
Crown Solicitor Jacinda Hamilton said Ali “still has a long way to go” in terms of accepting responsibility, “let alone being in a position to act with any truly remorseful conduct”.
He still minimised his actions and was in denial about the motivation for the offending.
“This severe and debilitating injury was caused in anger.
“It reflected a loss of temper, and it was extreme violence against an infant, the most vulnerable in our community.”
She said the nature of the fatal blow could be described as “vicious and gratuitous”.
‘Fortunate to escape a conviction for murder’
Judge Harvey largely agreed with the Crown, except when it came to giving a discount for Ali’s attempts at rehabilitation after spending 14 months at the Grace Foundation.
“The steps you have taken to date are commendable and should be encouraged.”
However, in deciding the starting point, Justice Harvey said Mustafa would have been in “considerable pain and distress before dying”.
Given expert evidence that his fatal injury couldn’t have been caused by incorrectly administered CPR, as suggested by the defence, the judge said, given that, Ali was “fortunate to escape a conviction for murder”.
After taking an overall starting point of nine years and 10 months, he allowed 35% in discounts, along with five months for his time on electronically monitored bail.
Judge Harvey jailed Ali for six years.
Belinda Feek is an Open Justice reporter based in Waikato. She has worked at NZME for 11 years and has been a journalist for 22.