By Everson Luhanga
- Sergeant Jacob Masemola was shot dead just metres away from his house in November 2022.
- On the day he was killed, he was robbed outside his home in Lehae, south of Johannesburg.
- His detective partner and lover was the last person to see him alive. She had just handed him his police service weapon to pursue robbers.
- She was dramatically arrested on Thursday morning after allegedly forging the signature of her late partner to fraudulently inherit his estate.
- Police are not ruling out the possibility that she could be charged with his murder.
A hardworking police detective had his life cut short a year ago when he was shot and killed just metres from his house in Lehae, south of Johannesburg.
And now, his live-in police girlfriend, who was stationed at the Hillbrow Police Station with him, has been arrested. She is facing fraud charges for allegedly forging documents, including a will, as well as the signatures of her late partner, Sergeant Jacob Masemola.
Investigating officers are also looking at his murder and are not ruling out the possibility that she could be charged with the murder of the sergeant.
The Murder
Sergeant Masemola died on 9 November 2022 after coming back from coaching the police soccer team.
Moments before reaching his home he was violently robbed by a group of assailants, who stole his possessions and coaching gear.
What happened next remains unclear.
His partner and lover, who cannot be named, said in the police report following his death that she was at his home when he returned in a state of distress, demanding his police service weapon.
“His partner gave him his official firearm and he got into his own vehicle that was parked in front of the gate,” read the statement that was released after his death.
She then watched Sergeant Masemola driving away from the house.
“Immediately as she got inside the house, she said she heard gunshots and she also went to fetch her service pistol and went on foot but she couldn’t see anyone outside. She contacted the tracker company to locate her husband’s vehicle and he was tracked to the scene of the crime where he was found dead.”
Some family members told Scrolla.Africa that he was found lying dead in the driver’s seat.
The Fraud
Sergeant Masemola’s death has since raised many questions and led to the opening of a year-long investigation which resulted in the dramatic arrest of his partner.
His partner at the Hillbrow Police Station was also his live-in girlfriend, but back in Limpopo, where he was from, he had a wife and children.
After his death, Sergeant Masemola’s wife tried to obtain a letter of executorship at the master’s office, giving her authority over his estate. However, the master’s office told her that the claim document had already been submitted by someone else: his lover in Johannesburg.
It turns out that immediately after his death, Sergeant Masemola’s lover allegedly began forging documents and the signature of the deceased in order to inherit his estate.
Scrolla.Africa understands that the suspect claimed that she was given permission by the lawful wife in Limpopo. The wife denies this.
The suspect even submitted her late fiance’s old ID book copies and Sergeant Masemola’s wife’s old ID copies without the wife’s knowledge.
The suspect is alleged to have fraudulently inherited the deceased’s car, his home and monetary investments including a GEPF (Government Employee’s Pension Fund).
The suspect was arrested on Thursday morning and now faces charges of fraud, perjury and forgery. Police are not ruling out the possibility that she could be involved in his murder.
Pictured above: The suspect.
Image source: Supplied
