Former police officer and accomplice sentenced to life in South Africa for murdering couple
The Pretoria High Court in South Africa sentenced repeat offender Rassie Nkuna and former police officer Jacob Chego to life imprisonment for the murders of married couple Lucky and Sabeliwe Mogoshoa. The victims’ families said the sentence brought them some relief after several years of pain, TimesLIVE reports.
Murder of the couple
Lucky and Sabeliwe Mogoshoa were killed in March 2022 near the Etwatwa off-ramp on the N12 highway in Ekurhuleni. This happened in front of their eight-year-old son and one-year-old daughter. At the time of her death, Sabeliwe was six months pregnant.
The court heard that Nkuna and Chego acted together: they lured the couple and then killed them for their BMW car. Judge Samuel Makamu described the crime as particularly brutal and disgraceful.
Families’ reaction and appeal
Lucky’s mother, Maletsatsi Maroga, said she was satisfied with the court’s decision. According to her, the deaths of her children separated her from her grandchildren, whom she has not seen since their parents were murdered.
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Sabeliwe’s mother, Rachel Zwane, thanked the media for putting pressure on the case. She noted that the grandchildren would need a long time to recover from the loss of their parents.
After the sentence was announced, Chego filed an application for leave to appeal the conviction and sentence, but the court dismissed it. He was also denied bail while applying to the Supreme Court of Appeal for leave to appeal.
Nkuna is also due to stand trial in 2027 in the murder case of Hillary Gardi. He is already serving life imprisonment for the murders of his girlfriend, Pretty Mazibuko, and her sister, Marcia Mazibuko.
