Case against murderer Rassie Nkuna starts afresh after judge arrested for corruption

A child who witnessed the brutal murder of his parents, allegedly by Rassie Hlabirwa Nkuna, is set to testify again in court because the trial was forced to start afresh after the judge who had been hearing the case was arrested on corruption charges.

The trial was already more than halfway done when judge Portia Phahlane was arrested in November in connection with a separate matter in which she is accused of accepting a bribe.

During bail, Phahlane was banned from entering the Pretoria high court premises and later placed on special leave.

Some of her cases, including that of convicted murderer Nkuna, have been allocated new judges and will be starting afresh.

According to the state, Nkuma killed the boy’s parents in March 2022. At the time of the murder, the child was seven years old. The victims, Lucky and Sabeliwe Magashoa, who was heavily pregnant at the time, were travelling with their two children to the South African Police Service (SAPS) 13 office in Mpumalanga after receiving information that their stolen vehicle had been recovered.

While travelling along the N12 highway in Ekurhuleni near the Etwatwa off-ramp, the couple allegedly picked up Nkuna, who was supposed to assist them in retrieving the vehicle.

It is alleged that after getting into the car, Nkuna directed them to drive into nearby veld, where he shot and killed the couple in front of their children.

“The accused unlawfully deprived the Magashoas and their children of their liberty by keeping them in the vehicle and directing that it be driven to an open veld where he shot the couple,” the indictment states.

Nkuna was later arrested alongside a police officer from the Mpumalanga SAPS 13 unit, Jacob Mothibe Chego, and charged with fraud, murder and kidnapping.

Nkuna has also been accused of the murder of Hillary Gardee, the daughter of Godrich Gardee. He is serving a life sentence for the murder of his girlfriend and sister in May 2022.