Celebrated sergeant tackles second high-profile insurance killer case

Sergeant Keshi Mabunda, the cop who first brought down notorious killer Nomia Rosemary Ndlovu, may soon have another insurance fraud killer to add to his list.

The woman who is being investigated after benefiting from insurance claims upon the deaths of her son, husband, two daughters and niece, will remain in police custody another week after making her first appearance at court on Friday.

The murder charge she faces is for her niece, who was initially ruled to have died of natural causes, until an investigation was done and the body exhumed and examined. The deaths of her other family members are now being investigated.

ALSO READ: Another Rosemary Ndlovu: Pretoria woman benefits from murdered family’s insurance claims

The woman, 49, whose name is known to The Citizen, but will not be published until she pleads, made her first appearance at Mmabatho Magistrate’s Court in the North West on Friday.

NPA regional spokesperson, Henry Mamothame, said she is facing a charge of murder, two of fraud and one of defeating the ends of justice.

“The suspect was traced and arrested in Centurion during a takedown operation led by the Saps in collaboration and full cooperation with an insurance company,” Mamothame said.

Same detective

Mabunda is the same detective who cracked the Nomia Rosemary Ndlovu case. Ndlovu, a former cop, is serving six life sentences for orchestrating multiple murders so she could collect insurance payouts.

She was also found guilty of fraud (four counts), defeating the ends of justice and attempted murder.

Ndlovu was accused of plotting to kill her sister and her sister’s five children in Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga, so that she could cash in on insurance and funeral policy payouts.

ALSO READ: Nomia Rosemary Ndlovu sentenced to life imprisonment for murder

Similar cases

“For the past two months, Sergeant Keshi Mabunda and a team of detectives have been working on this case following a tip-off from relatives of this suspect. Mabunda was roped in to kick-start investigations due to his expertise in solving similar cases,” said Hawks spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe.

“Through the analysis and collection of evidence, including the exhumation of a body, the team was able to link its latest suspect to the team’s first focus of the case.

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“The murder that was initially ruled a ‘natural death’ happened in Mmabatho, where a female relative died under mysterious circumstances in March 2023.

“Investigations have revealed that the suspect fraudulently took out insurance on behalf of her relative prior to her murder.”

Mathe said the team is also investigating the deaths of the suspect’s son, who died in July, her husband, who died in 2016, and her two daughters, who died in 2015 and 2005.

“The suspect has, according to investigations, pocketed large amounts of money throughout her activities.”