Limpopo cop, two others accused of insurance murders abandon bail bid

Limpopo police sergeant Rachel Shokane-Kutumela, 43, accused of insurance fraud and murder, abandoned her bail application midway through the hearing. 

She and her two co-accused — her elder sister Annah Shokane, 47, a nurse at Cintocare Private Hospital in Menlyn, and her daughter Madjadji Flora Shokane, 23, a caregiver at an old-age home in Pretoria North — appeared in the Polokwane magistrate's court on Friday. 

They abandoned their bail applications and their case was postponed to February 7 for further investigation.

The trio from Moletjie Ga-Maleka face multiple charges including nine counts of murder, money laundering, receiving proceeds from unlawful activities, fraud and defeating the ends of justice.

Limpopo National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Mashudu Malabi-Dzhangi previously said allegations against Shokane-Kutumela and her sister were that they fraudulently took out life, accident and funeral insurance policies for several victims and subsequently cashed in the policies.

The payouts were made through various service providers, including Absa, Standard Bank, Capitec, Hollard, Sanlam, King Price, First National Bank, Assupol, Old Mutual, 1Life and Clientele.

Malabi-Dzhangi said the crimes reportedly spanned from 2000 to 2024, during which time the insured individuals died in various circumstances.

Some of the deaths included a woman who was burnt in her shack and a disabled man who drowned in a dam, with fatalities occurring in locations such as Soweto, Sebokeng, Matlerekeng, Lebowakgomo and Seshego.

Shokane-Kutumela faces six counts of premeditated murder, while her sister and daughter each face three counts of murder. 

This week she testified that should the case go to trial she would plead not guilty.  Shokane-Kutumela told the court she co-operated with the police since she became aware that she was being investigated and never attempted to interfere with or obstruct the investigation. She did not live far from the court and had young children who needed her care.

“I suffer from diabetes, an illness that requires a special diet. Those are some of the reasons the court should release me on bail,” she said. 

She has a 10-room house in a village owned by the traditional council and did not know the value of the house. She has a Toyota Cressida worth R15,000. She said she also has a Toyota Land Cruiser 2010 model worth about R90,000 and, with her husband, a Toyota Fortuner 2020 model worth less than R500,000.

Shokane-Kutumela said she could afford R5,000 bail. She added she also has assets not registered in her name. “The Toyota Land Cruiser is not registered in my name. There is also a Range Rover not registered in my name, valued at R120,000, it is an old model,” she said. 

Those assets were not registered in her name because she sent her co-accused sister to buy the vehicles shortly before Covid-19 and they did not change the ownership details. 

She said there was no strong evidence against her and that's why she intended to go to trial. 

During cross-examination on Thursday, she said she sent her sister money to buy the vehicles. She sent her about R250,000 to purchase a Range Rover in March in 2020. 

“I had received money from the claim,” she said, adding the money was from an accident cover policy for one of her alleged victims, Sydney Noko Montja.

Two vehicles were bought on the same day from the proceeds of the claims of Montja's accident cover. To buy a Land Cruiser, she sent more money to her sister, about R250,000, she said. 

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