Second day on stand for murder-accused Limpopo cop

The 43-year-old woman told the court that she also intends to deny that the life and funeral insurance policies she took out for multiple victims were fraudulent. 

Kutamela-Shokane is accused of killing at least six people, while her 47-year-old sister Annah Shokane, who is a nurse at Cintocare Private Hospital in Menlyn, is accused of killing three people. 

The sisters claimed a total of about R20 million as the sole beneficiaries of the insurance policies and allegedly shared the illicit gains among themselves.

They both began their application to be granted bail on Wednesday, together with the 27-year-old daughter of Kutumela-Shokane, Flora Shokane, who is a caregiver at an old age home in Pretoria North.

 They face 32 charges, including nine counts of murder, money laundering, receiving proceeds from unlawful activities, fraud, and defeating the end of justice. 

The National Prosecuting Authority says these crimes spanned from 2019 until 2024, during which insured people were found deceased in suspicious ways.

During the deaths of the individuals, payouts were made through various service providers, including ABSA, Standard Bank, Capitec, Hollard, Sanlam, King Price, First National Bank, Assupol, Old Mutual, Onelife, and Clientele.

Kutama-Shokane took the stand on Wednesday to provide her version of events up until her arrest at the Senwabarwana police station in September.

She then disclosed her relationship with some of the victims, where she claimed that Sydney Noko Monja, who drowned in a dam, is the biological father of her first child, Flora, who happens to be accused number three.

Kutama-Shokane further told the court that Joyce Tsela Malesa, who tragically died after her shack went up in flames, was her aunt. 

Navel Kutumela was the younger brother of her husband, who was tragically knocked down by a car.

She is expected to take a stand on Thursday as she continues with her bail bid.

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