A former police official and a parolee have been convicted in the Pretoria High Court on multiple serious charges linked to the premeditated murder of a married couple, reports Pretoria Rekord.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said the case highlighted the abuse of trust and the calculated use of deception to lure victims.

The court found Rassie Hlabirwa Nkune (37) from Mpumalanga, and Jacob Mothibe Chego (41) guilty of two counts of premeditated murder, two counts of conspiracy to commit murder, four counts of kidnapping, fraud and of defeating the ends of justice.

Chego is a former member of the White River Vehicle Crime Investigation Unit.

Nkune was additionally convicted on two counts of robbery with aggravating circumstances.

According to evidence presented in court, the chain of events began on March 16, 2022, when the husband received a call from Chego.

During the call, Chego informed him that a vehicle previously reported stolen in 2018 had allegedly been recovered and was being held at the White River police vehicle impound.

This claim set in motion a sequence of events that the court later found to be part of a co-ordinated criminal plan.

On March 17, 2022, Nkune contacted the husband while posing as a police officer.

He informed him that he would visit the family’s home in Roodepoort to collect documents related to the recovered vehicle.

NPA regional spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana explained on June 24 that Nkune later arrived at the residence and received the documents.

Arrangements were then made for the family to travel to collect the vehicle on March 19.

On the agreed date, the couple and their two children, aged one and eight-years-old, travelled to Benoni.

Mahanjana said there they met Nkune at a petrol station before continuing toward what they believed was the White River vehicle impound.

However, during the trip, Nkune instructed the husband at gunpoint to stop the vehicle in an open veld in Etwatwa.

“Once the vehicle stopped, Nkune ordered the couple out of the car, leaving their children inside. He then forced the couple into the veld, where he shot both of them in the head. The children remained in the vehicle during the attack and witnessed the aftermath of the violent crime,” said Mahanjana.

She pointed out that after the murders, Nkune returned to the vehicle and drove away with the two children still inside.

He later abandoned the children in a separate location before fleeing on foot.

“Despite the trauma they had endured, the eight-year-old child managed to care for the younger sibling, and the two made their way on foot in search of help. They were eventually assisted by a woman along the N12 highway, who took them to a police station where the incident was reported,” said Mahanjana.

Nkune was later arrested while already in custody for another matter, where he was serving a life sentence for the murder of two women in a separate case.

His criminal history was placed before the court as part of the broader background to the matter.

Chego, together with co-accused Elvis Press Makhubela, who has since died, handed themselves over to police at the Springs police station on April 16, 2024.

They were arrested and later released on bail pending trial.

Mahanjana said during the trial, both accused pleaded not guilty and denied all charges.

However, the state, led by Advocate Tholoana Sekhonyana, presented evidence that included testimony from the surviving eight-year-old child and statements from an associate of Nkune.

“The court found the testimony to be credible, consistent, and supported by objective evidence, concluding that it met the threshold of proof beyond reasonable doubt,” said Mahanjana.

She said the NPA welcomed the judgment, stating that it demonstrates the justice system’s commitment to holding perpetrators of violent crime accountable, particularly where individuals in positions of trust are involved.

Mahanjana said the case sends a strong message that the abuse of authority for criminal purposes will not be tolerated and will be met with the full force of the law.

The matter has been postponed to August 10 for sentencing proceedings, where the court will determine appropriate sentences based on the severity of the offences and the circumstances presented during the trial.

*The names of the deceased are being withheld to protect the identity of their minor child, who witnessed the murder and is entitled to legal anonymity under the Criminal Procedure Act51 of 1977.

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