Overview
- Nkune and former police officer Jacob Chego were sentenced Wednesday to four life terms each for the March 19, 2022 murders of Lucky and Sabeliwe Mogashoa.
- The court also imposed additional fixed terms for kidnapping, fraud and related charges, ordered both men declared unfit to possess firearms, and the NPA successfully opposed Chego’s requests for leave to appeal and bail pending appeal.
- Prosecutors said the couple were lured with a fake vehicle‑recovery meeting, driven to an open veld in Etwatwa and executed in front of their one‑ and eight‑year‑old children, with the older child later giving key eyewitness testimony and police releasing an emotional recording of the younger child.
- Rassie Nkune is already serving life for other murders, was given an extra 30 years for two armed robberies in this sentencing, and was linked in court to about 25 other open cases including armed robbery and sexual offences while facing further trials.
- Victim impact statements described severe psychological and financial harm to the families, the ruling underscored the breach of public trust by an onetime officer, and prosecutors said the sentence aims to deter violent crime and signal that law enforcement abusers will be held to account.