A Bushbuckridge policewoman was arrested yesterday, in connection with a double murder, after she allegedly evaded arrest.

Mpumalanga News reports Sergeant Nyiko Jacobeth Nyathi (42) allegedly hired hitmen to kill her husband, Alber Mashego, and his pregnant girlfriend, Victoria Mmathapelo Lebjane.

Nyathi, who is attached to Bushbuckridge Police Station, briefly appeared in the Mapulaneng Magistrate’s Court shortly after her arrest. She was not asked to plead and was remanded in custody pending her next court appearance tomorrow for a formal bail application.

Police had planned to arrest Nyathi in Bushbuckridge on Friday but aborted the operation after SABC’s Morning Live prematurely aired the information, prompting her to disappear.

Mashego was attacked in his home by a group of armed men on February 5 last year. They demanded his bank card, but he told them it was with Lebjane, who lived in Zoeknog Village a few kilometres away. They then demanded money and cellphones before forcing Mashego to phone Lebjane to arrange for the bank card.

“Upon arrival at Lebjane’s residence, the perpetrators ordered Mashego to knock on the door. He quickly entered the house and closed the door again, but his attackers shot through it, killing the couple. They then retrieved the bank card from her pocket and fled the scene,” says NPA regional spokesperson Monica Nyuswa.

The matter was reported to the police, and investigations led to the arrest of Witness Monareng (28) a few months later. He pleaded guilty when fingerprint evidence placed him at the scene and was sentenced to 77 years behind bars.

He has since turned state witness.

Police later arrested Themba Mokoena, Thabang Malumane, and Thabiso Malope, whose trial is ongoing.

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