By Everson Luhanga
Looking back at the original Killsurance series, published in October 2020.
Part 2 of 9
While Sergeant Rosemary Ndlovu is in the dock for murdering family members for funeral-policy cash, insurance companies are lining up to hit her with fraud charges as well.
Police sources say she could have taken out policies for up to 28 close relatives.
Rosemary has been charged with five counts of murder and eight of attempted murder or conspiracy to commit murder – where she hired hitmen to do the job for her.
Court documents say Rosemary bagged R1.38 million rand from allegedly fraudulent payouts.
The charge sheet names her sister, mother and cousins as some of those allegedly targeted for insurance cash.
BUT it looks as if there could have been many more family members at risk of early death.
The cops have met with insurance companies who paid out, and that’s when they all realised there could be as many as 28 policies. Several of these insurance companies are preparing to lay criminal charges.
The police would not comment yet on the progress of these fraud charges, but the High Court papers list 104 witnesses, and some are from insurance companies.
When the case hits the High Court in September, the verdict is not a sure thing. Rosemary is accused of arranging killings that she got other people to carry out. The state also has to prove the link between the deaths and the insurance policies.
The state says that with some of the deaths the case is circumstantial and based on Rosemary’s methods – “to take out various insurance policies to cover some of her relatives as well as her life partner, and then to pay and arrange hitmen to kill the said individuals, or to kill them herself for financial gain”.
While Gauteng police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Lungelo Dlamini confirmed ongoing investigations into murder, consipiracy to commit murder and fraud, he would not comment on the progress of the fraud charges.
Read: Part 3
