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Ex-cop Nomia Rosemary Ndlovu, who is accused of numerous murders, seemed to employ cat-and-mouse tactics to avoid giving straight answers to questions posed by state prosecutor Riana Williams, during her fourth consecutive court appearance in the Johannesburg High Court, sitting at the Palm Ridge Magistrates’ Court, on Friday.
The 43-year-old is facing a string of charges, including fraud and defeating the ends of justice, after she was arrested in March 2018 for allegedly masterminding the deaths of six family members for insurance claim payouts.
Ndlovu also appeared to contradict a sworn affidavit that she had signed under oath in a Hollard and Old Mutual insurance claim for the death of her cousin Witness Madala Homu in April 2012.
Williams cross-examined her about the application in which she allegedly citied the deceased as a spouse in order to avoid higher premiums, and subsequently received over R130 000 for that claim.
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Williams also showed her the claim application, which she said was in Ndlovu’s handwriting, asking her to confirm its contents, specifically her relationship with the deceased.
“I told the people for insurance that he was not my spouse, that he is my brother, but they told me to put things as on the papers on the cover, and that they will let me know if there was a problem, which they didn’t,” she said.
She further denied that she used the money for her personal benefit, as previously cited by Homu’s mother during her testimony.
Ndlovu was adamant she gave Homu’s mother R15 000 before the funeral, but this was disputed by two other witnesses in previous testimonies.
“It was around the beginning of the month when Godfrey [her cousin] called me, saying Madala’s landlord was looking for him to pay his rent. I tried calling him as well, and his phone was off.
“Madala resided in Kaalfontein. I promised Godfrey that I would assist in searching for Madala using my police network. I was on duty at Tembisa police station, and I called Ivory Park police station asking if Madala had been detained. I didn’t check Olifantsfontein police station because it was not very busy, and it was in a suburb,” said Ndlovu, when asked by Williams how she found out about Homu’s death.
During the trial, the state lined up more than 40 witnesses who testified against her. The state has closed its case and the proceedings are now focused on Ndlovu’s testimony, which started on Tuesday.
She is facing many charges relating to conspiring for the murder of five people and claiming the insurance payouts for their deaths. They are:
- Witness Madala Homu;
- Her sister Audrey Somisa Ndlovu, who was killed in June 2013. Ndlovu allegedly claimed R717 000 in insurance;
- Her boyfriend Maurice Mabasa. Ndlovu allegedly claimed R416 000 from insurance companies;
- Her niece Zanele Motha, who was killed in 2016, for which Ndlovu allegedly received more than R120 000; and
- Her nephew Mayeni Mashaba, who died in 2017.
The case resumes on Monday.
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