I don’t want them to kill God's people anymore: Toddler's plea after parents' killers jailed for life

<span>I don’t want them to kill God's people anymore: Toddler's plea after parents' killers jailed for life</span> <span><span>bombeleni_temp</span></span> <span><time datetime="2026-09-02T11:40:00+02:00" title="Wednesday, September 2, 2026 - 11:40">Wed, 09/02/2026 - 11:40</time> </span>

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<div class="text-long"><p>Rassie Nkuna and Mathibe Chego</p><p> </p><p><br> </p></div> </div> </div> </div> <span class="a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_36 addtoany_list" data-a2a-url="https://www.enca.com/news-top-stories-videos/i-dont-want-them-kill-gods-people-anymore-toddlers-plea-after-parents" data-a2a-title="I don’t want them to kill God's people anymore: Toddler's plea after parents' killers jailed for life"><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.enca.com%2Fnews-top-stories-videos%2Fi-dont-want-them-kill-gods-people-anymore-toddlers-plea-after-parents&title=I%20don%E2%80%99t%20want%20them%20to%20kill%20God%27s%20people%20anymore%3A%20Toddler%27s%20plea%20after%20parents%27%20killers%20jailed%20for%20life"></a><a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a></span>

<div class="text-long"><p>JOHANNESBURG - “I don’t want them to kill God’s people anymore.”</p><p>Those are the heartbreaking words of the youngest child of murder victims Lucky and Sabeliwe Mogashoa after learning that her parents’ killers had been sentenced to life imprisonment.</p><p>The toddler expressed a mix of relief, joy and sadness after her grandmother told her the two men would spend the rest of their lives behind bars for murdering her parents.</p><blockquote><p><strong>READ: </strong><a href="https://www.enca.com/news-top-stories-videos/stats-sa-survey-paints-bleak-picture-crime-sa-homes"><span><strong>Stats SA survey paints bleak picture of crime in SA homes</strong></span></a></p></blockquote><p>In an emotional voice recording released by Sabeliwe’s family, the child says she knows her parents are watching over her.</p><p>The Mogashoa family was travelling on the N12 on 16 March 2022 when they were lured to the Etwatwa off-ramp.</p><blockquote><p><strong>READ: </strong><a href="https://www.enca.com/news/exclusive-hillary-gardee-murder-suspects-take-state"><span><strong>EXCLUSIVE | Hillary Gardee murder suspects to take on State</strong></span></a></p></blockquote><p>Former police Vehicle Crime Unit officer Jacob Mothibe Chego falsely told the couple that their vehicle had been reported stolen in 2018 and had since been recovered. </p><p>With their two children -- aged one and six at the time -- still in the car, the family was kidnapped.</p></div>

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<div class="text-long"><p>Lucky and Sabeliwe were taken to a nearby field and both were shot in the head. Sabeliwe was heavily pregnant at the time. Their children witnessed the murders.</p><p>Chego and serial killer Rassie Hlabirwa Nkuna abandoned the children in the vehicle and fled. </p><p>The six-year-old then walked back to the N12 carrying the one-year-old and managed to flag down passing motorists for help.</p><blockquote><p><strong>READ: </strong><a href="https://www.enca.com/news/case-against-four-suspects-murder-hillary-gardee-provisionally-withdrawn"><span><strong>Case against four suspects in murder of Hillary Gardee provisionally withdrawn</strong></span></a></p></blockquote><p>According to police, the eldest child provided crucial evidence that led to the pair’s arrest and later testified in court, helping secure their convictions.</p><p>In June 2026, four years after the murders, the Gauteng High Court sitting in Pretoria found Nkuna and Chego guilty of premeditated murder, conspiracy to commit murder, kidnapping, fraud and robbery.</p><p>According to police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe, Nkuna is already serving a sentence for the murders of his former girlfriend, Pretty Mazibuko, and her sister, Marcia, in Mpumalanga.</p></div>

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<div class="text-long"><p>Nkuna has also been linked to the murder of Hillary Gardee, the daughter of former Economic Freedom Fighters secretary-general Godrich Gardee.</p><blockquote><p><span><strong>READ: </strong></span><a href="https://www.enca.com/news/hillary-gardee-murder-suspects-return-court"><span><strong>Hillary Gardee murder suspects return to court</strong></span></a></p></blockquote><p>Hillary Gardee was kidnapped and murdered in Mbombela in May 2022. Her body was dumped along a deserted stretch of the Sabie Road, where it was later discovered by passers-by.</p><p>Nkuna is expected to stand trial for Gardee’s murder next year.</p></div>

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