‘Culture of impunity’ — Cop accused of 6 insurance fraud murders to pocket R10m appears in court

A police sergeant based at Senwabarwana Police Station in Limpopo appeared briefly in Polokwane Magistrate's Court on Friday facing charges of committing six insurance fraud murders and pocketing R10-million. Her arrest brought to 15 the total number of SA Police Service officers held within the past week, according to police.

Rachel Raesetsa Shokane Kutumela, 43, of Moletjie Makgofe, faces six counts of murder and more than a dozen counts of fraud stemming from crimes committed between 2019 and 2014. It is alleged that sergeant Kutumela fraudulently took out life and funeral insurance for victims and has since claimed R10 million as a sole beneficiary from various service providers including ABSA, Standard Bank, Capitec, Hollard, Assupol, Old Mutual, Onelife and Clientele, according to National Prosecuting Authority Limpopo Regional spokesperson Mashudu Malabi Dzhangi.

“The incidents began in 2019 when the insured persons would be found dead and their bodies dumped in different areas. In one incident, a woman was burnt in her shack and in another, a man who was disabled was also discovered drowned in a dam. More arrests are expected,” Dzhangi said.

Court proceedings were postponed to Friday, 18 October, for a bail application which the State intends to oppose.

Her arrest follows those of  other 14 police officers.  Seven Soweto officers were arrested for the assault and subsequent death of 41-year-old Sfiso Dlamini at his home in January 2023. In Cape Town, seven Public Order Policing officers were arrested in Milnerton facing charges of extorting money from two Chinese shopkeepers.

“The Milnerton case is a case of a group of police allegedly operating as an extortion mafia,” said David Bruce, an independent researcher and consultant with the Institute for Security Studies (ISS).

“Extortion against foreign nationals, deaths linked to overzealous policing, and corruption more generally are embedded features of policing in South Africa,” he said.

“There are many honest and hard-working SAPS members. But the mechanisms for responding to police corruption and criminality are completely inadequate.”

Willem Els, a security expert at the ISS, said: “The lapse of discipline within the police, the collapse of the internal disciplinary system within the SAPS; there is almost a culture of impunity that has arisen within the SAPS where there are no consequences for when they act outside the lines of the law.

“We also see that the police are greatly compromised and targeted by organised crime groups, who of course have a lot of money, and the police officer is co-opted, and many of them become part of syndicates, because it is fast and big money, and they also offer to extend protection to the groups.”

Police condemn ‘disgrace’ in Limpopo

Responding to the arrest of the Limpopo police officer, Police Minister Senzo Mchunu said that the  six people who lost their lives were victims of a "calculated and heinous scheme" to defraud life and funeral insurance policies.

“This arrest serves as a stark reminder that there is no place in the SAPS for officers who abuse their position of authority for personal gain or engage in unlawful conduct. Let me be unequivocal: we will root out corruption and criminality from within the ranks of SAPS. Any police officer found to be involved in crime will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. We will not tolerate such conduct and we will continue to work tirelessly to restore the public’s confidence in our police service," said Mchunu.

National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola said the arrest followed a lengthy investigation by Captain Keshi Mabunda.

Mabunda also conducted the investigation that resulted in the conviction of former police officer Rosemary Ndlovu, who was sentenced to six life terms in November 2021 for orchestrating the murder of her partner and five family members to collect insurance payouts from policies she had taken out for them.

Masemola said, “As a police officer you are entrusted with the safety and security of communities. For a police officer entrusted with such a great responsibility to be involved in such acts is an absolute disgrace.”

Recommendations to tackle SAPS corruption

An ISS report, “Strengthening the SAPS for a Safer South Africa: Recommendations for Police Reforms”, released in June, found: “Police corruption, criminality and misconduct are widespread. This contributes significantly to low levels of public trust in the SAPS and high levels of organised and other crime.

“Current SAPS integrity management and disciplinary systems do not adequately maintain discipline or prevent misconduct and criminality among SAPS officials.”

The report recommended that the SAPS establish an effective and well-resourced National Anti-Corruption Unit.

It also recommended the police “establish an effective internal discipline system comprising dedicated disciplinary investigators, prosecutors and presiding officers. These dedicated disciplinary officials should expedite cases involving allegations of serious misconduct by police officials.” DM