WATCH | How police cracked R10m murder-for-insurance case

The body of a disabled man found floating in a dam is believed to be the one that blew the lid on a 11-man syndicate behind the R10m murder-for-insurance scheme that saw people being insured without their knowledge and later killed.

The circumstances around the discovery of the disabled man’s body were suspicious, because he could not have walked to the dam; and this led to the arrest of police officer Rachel Kutumela in October 2024 as well as family members, some of whom were arrested yesterday.

Among those arrested yesterday are Kutumela’s husband, who was arrested at a local school where he works as a principal. Other people arrested yesterday are Kutumela’s two brothers, a cousin and a sangoma. They were arrested at their homes while one handed himself over to the police. A sixth person, believed to be the twin to one of Kutemela’s brothers, is on the run.

After Kutumela’s arrest in 2024 while on duty at Senwabarana police station in Limpopo, the arrests of her sister Anna Shokane, 47, and daughter Florah Shokane, 23, followed soon afterwards.

Then in November last year, her brother Leshweng Johannes Shokane, 53, was also arrested.

Allegations are that the syndicate extensively researched how to carry out the scheme in a killing spree that started in 2013 and ended in 2024.

Ten people were killed during the period. Two of them were burnt, one was found in the street dead, one who was living with a disability was found floating in a dam, one died after he was poured with acid, another was found burnt inside the vehicle while another burnt to death in a shack.

Kutumela’s ex-boyfriend, who is also Florah’s father, is believed to be one of the 10 victims. Anna’s two ex-husbands - one of whom was an SAPS member and the other a South African National Defence Force member - are believed to have been killed too.

Speaking outside the Polokwane police station following the arrests yesterday, national police spokesperson Brig Athlenda Mathe said the syndicate was preying on vulnerable individuals and underprivileged members of society. Some of them were disabled, and the suspects would earn their trust, she said.

“Some were working for them. They take out insurance policies on them and later would be murdered.

“More than R10-million was paid out to Rachel and her accomplices. Those we have arrested have benefited from this scheme. They have been positively linked to the murders because of the roles they played.

“Some would take out the policies, receive the monies after the murders and send more than half to Rachel. Rachel would then distribute to the others.

“We strongly believe that those that were arrested today, two of them were actually the ones that would murder the victims,” said Mathe.

She said the syndicate did its research very well hence “we are saying it was an organised syndicate that was involved in this family affair”.

“It was an organised syndicate because they made sure that their victims died under mysterious circumstances. Some were shot and killed, some were hit by objects, some were poisoned and so on,” said Mathe.

Mathe said it looked like it was an evil family scheme. “They insure someone, kill them and later they benefit from the cash payments. It’s quite evil. I don’t think they should be regarded as human beings, because I don’t think human beings can do such to other human beings.”

While all the people that have been arrested are Kutumela’s close relatives, it is not yet known what the sangoma’s involvement is in the matter.

The suspects are expected to appear at Polokwane magistrate’s court on charges of murder, money laundering and fraud.

Sowetan