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The Johannesburg high court on Monday sentenced former nurse Happiness Sithembile Xulu and her former gardener Simon Mogale to life imprisonment for the murder of Xulu’s stepdaughter and domestic worker Busisiwe Nxumalo.
Xulu, 49, was also sentenced to an additional seven years’ imprisonment on each of four counts of fraud after pleading guilty to unlawfully taking out life and funeral insurance policies in the deceased’s name while falsely impersonating her.
“Evidence before the court revealed that after Nxumalo relocated from KwaZulu-Natal to Johannesburg in September 2021 to live and work for Xulu, the accused opened a bank account in the deceased’s name and fraudulently obtained four life and funeral insurance policies worth about R6m. Nxumalo nominated herself as the sole beneficiary,” National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Magaboke Mohlatlole said.
The court heard that on January 17 2022, four months after the policies had been taken out, Nxumalo was murdered.
“When insurance companies became suspicious due to the unnatural nature of Nxumalo’s death and the short period between the policies being issued and the claim being lodged, they initiated investigations and confronted Xulu. She subsequently admitted to fraudulently obtaining the policies and the matter was referred to the police.”
Mohlatlole said further investigations by W/O Phatutshedza Ngengenene, who was already investigating Nxumalo’s murder, uncovered the full extent of the insurance fraud scheme.
Mogale, 40, who had a relationship with Xulu as her former gardener and tenant, was convicted based on a confession admitted into evidence by the court.
In the confession, Mogale stated that Xulu transported him to a piece of veld near Daxina Hospital where the deceased was lying unconscious, handed him a knife, instructed him to kill Nxumalo, and promised him R60,000 for carrying out the murder.
In sentencing the accused, judge Mohamed Ismail agreed with the state’s submission describing Xulu as the mastermind behind the scheme.
Ismail found that a young woman was brutally murdered so that the accused could enrich themselves, with Mogale participating in the killing after being promised payment. The court held that the accused acted in concert to murder the deceased for financial benefit.
TimesLIVE
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