‘She’s dangerous’: victim’s family on insurance fraud murder accused cop

The family of one of the alleged victims of Rachel Shokane-Kutumela, the Limpopo policewoman accused of killing six people to cash in on insurance policies, say they hope the “dangerous” woman is denied bail.

Shokane-Kutumela appeared briefly in the Polokwane magistrate's court for a second time on Friday, with her sister Annah Shokane and daughter Madjadji Flora Shokane.

Annah, 47, and Flora, 27, were arrested in Mabokelele village on Thursday, while the policewoman was arrested a week ago.

Shokane-Kutumela, 43, faces six counts of murder, multiple counts of fraud and defeating the ends of justice, while her sister and daughter face three counts of receiving unlawful proceeds. Shokane-Kutumela and her daughter also face money laundering charges.

Jane Seakamela, whose brother Jacob Seakamela died on September 14 2022, opened up about the circumstances of his death in an interview with the SABC.

Jacob was found dumped in a dustbin next to a high school.

At first there was no sign he had been killed, according to his sister. The only unusual feature of his corpse was what appeared to be water streaming out his nose, she recalled.

“The night before, my younger brother got a call informing him some people arrived where [Jacob] was living and accused him of a crime.

“These people claimed to be police officers. The person taking care of him at the time apparently tried to stop these people, a man and woman, but they took him by force. The next day we got news of his death,” she said.

Seakamela said the family did not know Shokane-Kutumela and met her when she came to see them after her brother's death. She was with Jacob's former girlfriend, who she knew well.

“They claimed that while my brother and his ex-girlfriend were still a couple they took out a funeral plan and she [ex] now wanted to bury him.

“My younger brother and I were out making preparations for the funeral when we were alerted to the visit. We told them to wait for us to return and when we did, refused their request as we had our own funeral policy,” she said.

Seakamela said the family was still in pain over Jacob's death, especially given the way his corpse was discovered.

“Jacob's death affected us deeply. He was discarded in a bin, which really hurt us. She shouldn't get bail ... she's a dangerous person.”

Another relative who spoke out after Shokane-Kutumela's arrest was Mamoloko Mashabela, the cousin of Sydney Montja, who died in October 2019.

She recently told the media she was friends with Shokane-Kutumela before her arrest.

“I still can't believe it. I am shocked, I saw Rachel as a loving person and she used to come to visit us and take us out. We had a friendship, talking on WhatsApp. If there was something in the family, she would come and help in any way she could. You would find her buying scones.”

Mashabela said they met Shokane-Kutumela for the first time in 2019 in Seshego Hospital when she was collecting medication for her disabled cousin. 

“When we were sitting there, a police van arrived and she called my cousin by his name. I didn’t know her so she asked for the number and said she knew Sydney. We shared numbers and we started talking, she called asking for directions to where Sydney lived.  

“I gave her directions. When she came she said she knew Sydney and he was her boyfriend back then.”

Mashabela said at the time she had her cousin's ID document and Sassa card, but when he was paid at the end of that month, Shokane-Kutumela took them to withdraw the grant in her Land Cruiser. The car is one of five she apparently owns. The others are two Range Rovers, a BMW and a Mercedes-Benz.

The officer then took Montja's Sassa card and never returned it. Mashabela also recalled that every Friday Shokane-Kutumela would bring a 20l bucket of scones and looked after the family. 

“Everything we wanted she used to give us, like groceries and looking after him. I lived with her for three months. She took his card and also took his clothes to the laundry and I decided it is better to leave since my cousin has found a partner.”

Mashabela said the family only learnt of the insurance policies after Montja's death and believe Shokane-Kutumela took advantage of the family due to their poverty. 

“She said she would take over. She told the family her firstborn child was the child of my cousin. We didn't know that. It is because the family had problems,” she said, adding they were worried about how they would bury him and that's when Shokane-Kutumela spoke about insurance policies. 

“She buried him and gave him a dignified funeral. We didn't know [about policies],” she said. 

The Sunday World reported two months after Montja's death, Shokane-Kutumela hired a chopper for her lavish wedding to husband David Kutumela.

Her other alleged victims were Navel Kutumela, Tsela Malesa, Ephraim Choshi and Martin Manthata, who were all killed between 2020 and 2024.

Shokane-Kutumela and her co-accused were remanded after their bail application was postponed to October 30. 

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