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Four men sentenced for insurance policy murder of disabled woman
Nosipho Mfana was murdered in her sleep by a hitman hired to help her adopted father cash in on funeral policies.
Four men have been given lengthy prison sentences for their role in a plot to murder a disabled woman for monetary gain.
The quartet were convicted of conspiracy to commit murder and premediated murder following the 2022 death of 23-year-old Nosipho Mfana in KwaNokuthula near Plettenberg Bay.
Mfana was murdered in her sleep after her adopted father hired men to kill her in order to collect funeral policy payouts.
Hired gunmen
Mboneleli Msila and his wife — who was not implicated in the murder plot — adopted Mfana in 2010 when she was 11 years old.
The court described Mfana as 'severely mentally disabled', and explained how in 2021 Msila began assisting her in taking out separate funeral policies at three different banks.
Each policy would pay out R200 000 in the event of Mfana's death, with Msila, his wife and his sister-in-law the designated beneficiaries.
The court heard how Msila and his accomplices then 'put together a well-planned assassination with clearly identified roles for each of the accused, which was driven by greed'.
Msila hired Monde Tshemese, Lungisile Lucas and Mbulelo Jack to kill Mfana at Msila's home in KwaNokuthula.
On 30 April 2022, Mfana was one of three women sleeping on the lounge floor of their home while Msila slept in another room.
Lucas kept watch outside the dwelling while the other two entered — Jack pointing out which of the three women was Mfana, after which Tshemese shot her 15 times.
One of three claims rejected
The three men fled in a getaway vehicle without taking anything from the home and the two women sleeping near Mfana escaped without injury.
Following the incident, Msila submitted the insurance claims, with two of the three paying out the full R200 000.
The policies where his wife and sister-in-law were the beneficiaries granted the claims, but the policy where Msila was the beneficiary did not, as the circumstances and cause of death became subject to investigation.
Police were tipped off by a man who was collecting scrap near Msila's home on the evening of the murder.
'The plan fell apart when a tin collector observed the three men when they entered the yard. He knew the three men as they lived in the area. He also observed the men leaving the house after numerous shots were fired,' explained Western Cape NPA spokesperson Eric Ntabazalila.
Life and 17-year sentences
The four men were sentenced by the Western Cape High Court sitting in Knysna on Friday.
Msila and Tshemese were given life sentences for conspiracy to commit murder and premeditated murder, while Tshemese was given an extra five years for possession of an unlicensed firearm.
Lucas and Jack each received 17 years behind bars for their role in the plot.
'The cruelty accused one showed in putting together the assassination plan, her funeral policy money and the participants in that plan for their greedy benefit is indicative of the sick society we live in,' said Ntabazalila.
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