LISTEN | 'Killer cop' Nomia Rosemary Ndlovu returns to court on sixth anniversary of lover's murder

Maurice Mabasa's family say they need more than justice — they need answers

14 October 2021 - 10:40
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Alleged killer cop Nomia Rosemary Ndlovu is expected back in the high court on Thursday. File photo.
Alleged killer cop Nomia Rosemary Ndlovu is expected back in the high court on Thursday. File photo.
Image: Supplied

Alleged killer cop Nomia Rosemary Ndlovu’s return to the high court on Thursday coincides with the sixth anniversary of the murder of her lover, Maurice Mabasa.

He was bludgeoned to death and his body found tossed outside a house in Olifantsfontein on the East Rand on October 14 2015. He had been stabbed almost 80 times.

Ndlovu is accused of murdering him and five of her relatives over a six-year period, allegedly so she could cash in on life and funeral insurance policies.

The court has heard how for Mabasa's death alone, she was paid out over half a million rand. Just over R400,000 came from life and funeral policies and over R100,000 was paid out by his employer, the US embassy. 

Speaking to TimesLIVE on Wednesday, Maurice’s brother Justice said they needed more than justice for Maurice, they needed answers — if it was proven that it was Ndlovu behind the murder.

“Where did she kill my brother? Where did she do it? Who are the people she got to kill my brother? What was going through her mind when he was crying for his life? What was he doing — was he standing, watching, was he listening? Was she there? Those are the questions I would like to know from her,” said Justice.

Listen to what he had to say: 

Whether Ndlovu gets convicted for Maurice's murder, the family would battle with closure if they never got to know these answers. 

Not knowing where his brother drew his last breath meant that the family could not perform any of the integral traditional rituals done when a person dies, including the collection of their spirit.

Ndlovu has pleaded not guilty to all the charges levelled against her and has broken down numerous times during the trial, especially when she was questioned about Maurice's death. 

The court was on Thursday expected to hear closing arguments from both the state and defence. 

Justice said he and the rest of his family have followed the proceedings closely and have been disturbed by Ndlovu's actions in court. 

“She is changing hairstyles, doing makeup and all, but where is my brother's spirit?”

Even though Ndlovu has been behind bars since her arrest in March 2018, Justice says she continues to have a hold over their family and he is reminded of this daily when he steps outside his house. This is where his brother's vehicle, an Audi, has been parked since Maurice's death. 

Maurice Mabasa was in a relationship with alleged killer cop Nomia Rosemary Ndlovu, until he was murdered on October 14 2015.
Maurice Mabasa was in a relationship with alleged killer cop Nomia Rosemary Ndlovu, until he was murdered on October 14 2015.
Image: Supplied

Justice said shortly after Maurice's passing and when he and Ndlovu clashed after realising that some of Maurice's children had been left out of his estate, Ndlovu had allegedly wanted to sell Maurice's car. But Justice had refused. He has had the vehicle in his possession since then, unable to use it or sell it as Ndlovu has kept its papers, preventing him from renewing the licence disc on the car. 

Asked when he started to become suspicious that Ndlovu may have had a hand in Maurice's death, Justice said it happened the day after Maurice's funeral.

“This was because of the many calls that I had received from insurance companies, wanting to confirm that she was the wife,” said Maurice.

“It took me by surprise,” he added, saying Ndlovu had not told them of the numerous insurance payouts that she was expecting. 

The family, he said, was also still trying to process how she had up and left Maurice's home in Malamulele a day after his funeral — ignoring custom that required one's partner to stay with the family and mourn for a short while after the death.

“In hindsight it was clear she wanted to be free to make and receive calls so she could claim.”

Justice claimed her being a police officer made it easier for her to obtain the documents she needed for claims.

“She used her uniform and police ways to demand death certificates. I have the original death certificate of my brother. She never asked for it from me to make copies, but she also used an original to claim from insurance policies. How did she get her hands on an original?”

Ndlovu was arrested after hitmen she had allegedly hired to kill her sister, Joyce, and her five children in Bushbuckridge, informed police of the plot. They set up an undercover operation which saw her travel all the way from Johannesburg to Bushbuckridge with the hitmen and the undercover cop so she could point out her sister's house.

She had wanted them to be burnt to death in their house, allegedly so she could cash in insurance policies.

She was arrested shortly after pointing out the house and boarding a taxi back to Johannesburg to cement her alibi. 

Justice said he believes Ndlovu did not act alone in allegedly killing his brother, and wishes that the accomplices who may have helped her will come forward. 

The case is set to continue. 

TimesLIVE


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