A Kabega Park policewoman made her first appearance in the Gqeberha magistrate’s court on Thursday, a day after the police’s Money for Murder task team arrested her in connection with 16 charges of fraud.
The state did not oppose bail for Sergeant Nomvuyiseko Somekete, 48, and she was released on R500 bail before her case was postponed for further investigation.
The charges against her relate to a string of allegedly fraudulent life insurance and funeral policies she took out.
Somekete allegedly added herself as the sole beneficiary of the policies and lied about her relationship with the person she took the policy out on.
The total value of the policies is about R1m.
At least one of the people who she took a policy out on has since been murdered. However, Somekete has not been linked to his death.
According to the charge sheet, her alleged scheme started in January 2023 when she took out a R120,000 funeral policy on Onke Matikinca, claiming they were cousins.
Three days later, she took out a policy to the tune of R54,000 on her ex-husband, Kwanele Pali.
Over the following 15 months, she took out a further 14 policies, ranging in value from between R15,000 and R210,000, allegedly without the knowledge of the individuals concerned.
According to three of the charges against her, she allegedly applied for three different policies on the same person, while four other charges pertained to four different members of the same family.
The state alleges that in most cases she claimed to be a cousin of the person named, while in others she claimed to be a sibling or a spouse, when in fact she was not related to any of them in any way.
It is believed that Somekete appeared on the special task team’s radar after a shooting in KwaDwesi late in December 2023.
A man succumbed to the wounds he sustained a few days later, in January 2024.
According to a source, while investigating the motive for the man’s murder, it was discovered that almost R180,000 had allegedly been paid out to Somekete.
This prompted further investigation, which revealed the list of policies that had her registered as the sole beneficiary.
She was arrested at the Kabega Park police station on Wednesday morning and taken to the police cells at the Mount Road police station.
According to the source, more changes could be added to Somekete’s case as the investigation unfolds.
The case was postponed until July 24.
Somekete’s matter is the latest in a series of cases handled by the Money for Murder task team — a special unit that was established in 2024 after a series of suspected hit murders were carried out so that suspects could benefit from life insurance and funeral policy payouts.
The Herald
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.