Daughters ‘plotted to kill mom’ to cash in R80k funeral policy

The child of an Mpumalanga woman allegedly killed by her daughters so they could cash in a funeral policy has testified in court that she begged her mother not to go to the place where she was raped and strangled.

After her murder, her body was transported to a railway track so a train could run over it.

Bessie van Der Merwe was testifying at the Mbombela high court on Tuesday where her sister Bathabile Mthunywa, 39, their neighbour Nombuso Ndwandwa, 41, and Steen Mashakeng, 36, are on trial for the murder of 62-year-old Wanter Dlamini. She was murdered on January 5 2020.

Mashakeng is the boyfriend of Van der Merwe’s sister Nonhlanhla Mthunywa, who entered into a plea agreement with the state and is currently serving a 20-year sentence.

State prosecutor advocate Thulani Msibi told the court the accused worked with common purpose to murder Dlamini so they could claim the R40,000 insurance policy registered in her name without her knowledge.

According to Van der Merwe, Dlamini lost her cellphone a day before her murder. The next day Nonhlanhla called her to fetch it from Mashakeng’s house.

“My mother had drinks with Nonhlanhla and Bathabile a day before her death, a Saturday, at our home.

“She lost her cellphone and could not find it on Sunday when she woke up. While I was at work, she called me to say Nonhlanhla called her to come to fetch her cellphone at her boyfriend’s (Mashakeng) house.

“I begged my mother to not go alone and said she should take our brother Mark with her because I knew her and Nonhlanhla were not seeing eye to eye.”

Soon after she left, Dlamini’s youngest daughter, who had stayed behind at the house with Van der Merwe’s child, went into labour and Mark had to rush her to hospital.

Van der Merwe said she left work early to go home as she knew her child would be alone after her sister had gone to hospital. She said she drove straight to Mashakeng’s home.

“I found my sister Nonhlanhla at the door. When I asked where mom was, she said she had gone to buy chips.”

When her mother did not return, she posted in a work WhatsApp group and asked for help to search for her mother.

“On Sunday morning police said we should come to identify the body of a woman resembling my mother.”

The state alleges Ndwandwa took out a life insurance policy in Dlamini’s name and worked with Nonhlanhla and Bathabile to kill her.

Allegations are that on the day she went to Mashakeng’s house, she was held against her will, raped, strangled and covered with a blanket.

The policy payout would be R80,000 if she died accidentally, so they allegedly took Dlamini’s body to a railway line for a train to run over it. However, a passerby saw the body and notified the police.

Ndwandwa, Mashakeng and Bathabile have pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit murder, rape, theft, murder and fraud.

Bathabile and Ndwandwa are out on bail, while Mashakeng remains in custody.

The trial continues on Wednesday.

Sowetan