Serial killer, former cop get four life terms each for murder of pregnant woman and husband

A convicted serial killer and a former police official have each been sentenced to four life terms for a series of violent crimes, including the murder of a pregnant couple in front of their two young children.

Pretoria High Court sentenced Rassie Hlabirwa Nkune, 37, from Mpumalanga, and former White River Vehicle Crime Investigation Unit official Jacob Mothibe Chego, 41, to two life terms each for the premeditated murders of Lucky and Sabeliwe Zwane Mogashoa.

They were also sentenced to two life terms each for conspiracy to commit murder, as well as five years each for four counts of kidnapping, fraud and defeating the ends of justice. Nkune received an additional 15 years each for two counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances. The sentences will run concurrently with the life sentences.

The court also declared both men unfit to possess firearms.

The couple were killed on 19 March 2022 after Chego allegedly told Mogashoa that his vehicle, reported stolen in 2018, had been recovered and was being held at the White River police impound.

Nkune, posing as a police officer, later collected documents from the couple's Roodepoort home.

On the day they were supposed to collect the vehicle, Mogashoa, his wife and their two children, aged one and eight, travelled to Benoni, where they picked up Nkune.

While driving towards White River, Nkune allegedly pulled out a firearm and ordered Mogashoa to stop in an open veld in Etwatwa.

He forced the couple out of the vehicle and into the veld before shooting them in the head.

Their children were left inside the vehicle.

Nkune then drove away with the children before abandoning them in the vehicle and fleeing on foot. The eight-year-old took the younger sibling and walked along the N12 in search of help. A woman later assisted them and took them to a police station.

Nkune was subsequently arrested while already serving a life sentence for the murder of two women in an unrelated case.

Chego and his co-accused, Elvis Press Makhubela, who has since died, handed themselves over to police in April 2024 and were arrested before being released on bail.

Both Nkune and Chego pleaded not guilty and denied the charges.

The State, led by Advocate Tholoana Sekhonyana, relied on evidence including testimony from the eight-year-old child and Nkune's associate.

The court found the State witnesses credible and reliable and said their evidence was corroborated by objective evidence. It concluded that Nkune and Chego had jointly planned and executed the crimes.

During sentencing, the defence asked the court to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentences, citing their minor children.

Sekhonyana opposed the request, arguing that the men had shown no remorse and had committed a gruesome crime by murdering a couple in front of their children, with Sabeliwe six months pregnant at the time.

The court also heard victim impact statements facilitated by Court Preparation Officer Lebogang Lebese. The surviving child said the incident had affected his schoolwork and resulted in his grades dropping, while the families described the psychological, physical and financial impact of the killings.

The court found no substantial and compelling circumstances to justify a departure from the prescribed minimum sentences.

Chego's applications for leave to appeal his conviction and sentence, as well as bail pending his intended petition to the Supreme Court of Appeal, were successfully opposed by the NPA.

The NPA said the sentence sends a strong message that criminals who abuse positions of trust for personal gain will face the full force of the law.