Everson Luhanga
Remembering Maurice Mabasa 1972 – 2015
From the original Killsurance series, published in October 2020.
Part 8 of 9
Maurice Mabasa, who died in 2015 after being hacked to death near Olifantsfontein, was known for his love of life and his generosity.
The father of six children supported all 13 of his siblings, and his mother. He had a good job as a driver at a foreign embassy in Pretoria, so was able to look after his family. He was a passionate fan of Kaizer Chiefs.
At the time of his death he was organising a new house for his mother in Malamulele, Limpopo. “He was heading the plans. But after his death, we have been devastated,” said one of his brothers, Justice. “He loved life. He had friends all over. From Malamulele in Limpopo to Tembisa in Joburg, he was a person who was well received.”
A police investigation linked Sergeant Rosemary Ndlovu, Maurice’s girlfriend, to his death. It’s one of at least five murders she is accused of organising since 2012 to cash in on funeral-insurance policies. And in this case, with Maurice, prosecutors allege she hired hitmen to kill him – and then took the insurance payout.
Maurice’s younger brother Ronald remembers going to the mortuary to identify Maurice’s body, and seeing Rosemary there. She was sobbing. But Ronald suspects it was all an act. “When we went to identify my brother’s body at Germiston government mortuary, Rosemary was crying hysterically and helplessly,” Ronald said.
Justice says his mother was the most affected by Maurice‘s murder. She has found it very hard to accept that her son is dead.
More tragedy was soon to follow.
Rosemary and Maurice lived together for three years, at his home in Tembisa. He had one daughter with Rosemary – Makhanani Mabasa, who died in 2017, at the age of two.
The picture below is of Maurice and Makhanani.
Read: Part 9
