Police officer accused of killing pregnant wife appears in court

A police officer based at Rapid Rail in Silverton appeared in the Brits Magistrates’ Court, for the alleged murder of his pregnant wife.

According to National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana, Jonnas Tebogo Mpete (39) is facing a charge of premeditated murder for allegedly killing his pregnant ex-wife, Ntombizodwa Khumalo (35).

“It is alleged that on 5 April 2023, the accused went to the Brits Hospital, where the ex-wife worked as a switchboard operator, at the entrance of the hospital. When he arrived, it is alleged that he fired several shots at the deceased and after went to hand himself over at the Brits Police station.”

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Previous conviction

“Through his attorney, the accused told the court that he has a previous conviction of corruption, and is awaiting sentencing at the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on 19 April 2023. It was also brought to the attention of the court that the ex-wife obtained a protection order against the accused in 2021.”

Mahanjana also revealed that the matter was postponed to 21 April 2023, for further investigations ahead of the bail application.

Separate incident

In March, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) was investigating the murder of a policewoman in Ikageleng, North West, allegedly by her police officer husband.

At the time, police said the 48-year-old warrant officer at Nietverdien also appeared in court for allegedly killing his 44-year-old estranged wife and her lover.

The incident took place in Zandvlakte, Zeerust.

“Ipid has launched an investigation into the murder of a policewoman allegedly by her husband who is also a police officer,” said Ipid spokesperson Lizzy Suping at the time.

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