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The Johannesburg high court on Thursday convicted former nurse Happiness Sithembile Xulu and her former gardener, Simon Mogale, for the murder of Xulu’s stepdaughter, Busisiwe Nxumalo.
The state claimed the murder was orchestrated to claim approximately R6m in fraudulently obtained life insurance policies.
Xulu, 47, was also convicted on four counts of fraud after pleading guilty to unlawfully taking out life and funeral insurance policies in the name of the deceased while falsely impersonating her.
The court found that shortly after Nxumalo relocated from KwaZulu-Natal to live with Xulu in Johannesburg in September 2021, Xulu fraudulently secured multiple life and funeral insurance policies from various insurance companies with a combined value of about R6m. Xulu nominated herself as the sole beneficiary on all the policies.
Four months later, on January 17 2022, Nxumalo was murdered.
“The court heard that Xulu and Mogale had a longstanding relationship, as Mogale had previously worked as Xulu’s gardener and resided in one of her shacks in exchange for performing gardening duties,” National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Magaboke Mohlatlole said.
Mogale, 38, was convicted on the strength of a confession that the court admitted after rejecting his claim that it had been obtained under duress.
“In the confession, Mogale stated that Xulu transported him to a veld near Daxina Hospital, where the deceased was lying on the ground. He further stated that Xulu handed him a knife, instructed him to kill Nxumalo and promised to pay him R60,000 for carrying out the murder,” Mohlatlole said.
The court found that Mogale acted on Xulu’s instructions and caused the death of the deceased.
“Although there was no direct eyewitness testimony implicating Xulu in the murder, the court found that the cumulative circumstantial evidence overwhelmingly pointed to her involvement.”
The case was postponed until June 8 for sentencing proceedings.
“The NPA welcomes the convictions, which demonstrate the effectiveness of meticulous investigation and prosecution in uncovering and dismantling complex crimes motivated by greed and financial gain.”
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