The NPA said the ruling "sends a clear message that those who abuse positions of trust for personal gain will face the full might of the law.
A 37-year-old Mpumalanga man and a 41-year-old former South African Police Service (Saps) officer have been slapped with multiple life sentences for the cold-blooded murders of a couple – a crime committed in full view of their two young children
Rassie Hlabirwa Nkune and former police officer Jacob Mothibe Chego appeared in the Pretoria High Court, where the sentence was handed down.
They were charged with the murders of Lucky and Sabeliwe Zwane Mogashoa in 2022.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said the ruling “sends a clear message that those who abuse positions of trust for personal gain will face the full might of the law,” adding that the organisation remains committed to securing justice for victims of violent crime.
During the trial, the court heard how Chego, previously stationed at the White River Vehicle Crime Investigation Unit, led Mogashoa to believe his vehicle – stolen in 2018 – had been recovered.
The next day, Nkune, posing as a police officer, visited the Mogashoa home in Roodepoort to collect documentation and arranged a meeting for 19 March 2022 to “collect” the vehicle from the impound.
Mahanjana said on the day of the planned handover, the couple travelled with their one and eight‑year‑old children to Benoni, where they picked up Nkune.
“While en route to White River, Nkune instructed Mogashoa at gunpoint to stop in an open veld in Etwatwa. He forced the couple out of the vehicle, leaving their children inside, and executed both victims with shots to the head.
“Nkune then drove off with the children, abandoned them in the vehicle, and fled on foot. The eight‑year‑old carried the toddler along the N12 highway until a passer‑by helped them reach a police station,” Mahanjana said.
State Prosecutor Advocate Tholoana Sekhonyana led compelling evidence, including testimony from the surviving child and an associate of Nkune.
The court found the witnesses credible and their accounts corroborated by objective evidence, concluding that Nkune and Chego jointly planned and executed the murders.
Nkune was already serving a life sentence for murdering two women in a separate case when he was arrested.
Chego and co‑accused Elvis Press Makhubela (now deceased) later handed themselves over to police and were released on bail.
During sentencing, the defence argued that both men had minor children and asked the court to deviate from the prescribed minimum sentences.
But Advocate Tholoana Sekhonyana countered that the pair showed no remorse, committed a gruesome double murder, and killed a pregnant woman in front of her children.
Mahanjana said Sekhonyana read Victim Impact Statements facilitated by Court Preparation Officer Lebogang Lebese, in which the surviving child described how his school performance deteriorated after the trauma.
“Both families detailed severe psychological, physical and financial harm. The judge agreed with the State, finding no substantial or compelling circumstances to justify a lesser sentence.”
Nkune and Chego were each handed four life sentences – two for premeditated murder and two for conspiracy to commit murder – along with five‑year terms for multiple counts of kidnapping, fraud and defeating the ends of justice.
Nkune received an additional 30 years for two armed robberies, bringing his total punishment to life imprisonment plus extra time.
Mahanjana added that the court ordered the sentences to run concurrently with life imprisonment and declared both men unfit to possess firearms.
“After sentencing, Chego applied for leave to appeal and for bail pending his petition to the Supreme Court of Appeal. The NPA successfully opposed both applications.
“This sentence reaffirms our unwavering commitment to ensuring that perpetrators of violent crime – including those in positions of trust – are held accountable,” Mahanjana said.
Mahanjana said the NPA will continue “delivering justice for victims and their families.”
