The Ntuzuma Regional Court has handed down a life sentence to a 43-year-old KwaMashu mother who murdered her 14-year-old daughter in July 2024.

The court found that the crime was driven by the mother’s wish to cash out multiple life insurance policies taken out on the child.

According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the woman initially reported to police that her daughter had gone to bed the previous night complaining of a headache and taking medication.

She claimed she found the teenager unresponsive the next morning, lying in a pool of blood after allegedly falling from her bed.

An inquest docket was opened, but the case quickly took a different direction.

In a statement released by NPA’s Regional Spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara, the pathologist found that the injuries sustained by the deceased were not consistent with the accused’s version of events.

“The police also interviewed the accused’s neighbours, who said that before the incident, they had heard the deceased pleading with the accused not to kill her. Further investigations revealed that the accused had taken out several life insurance policies on the deceased. Before the incident, the accused had called the consultants (for the policies), confirming the policy amount and the claim procedure,” said the NPA.

The accused was subsequently arrested.

In court, the accused attempted to plead guilty under Section 112(2) of the Criminal Procedure Act, but the presiding officer rejected this and entered a plea of not guilty under Section 113. She later made formal admissions under Section 220, acknowledging that she had killed her daughter for insurance money. Based on these admissions and the weight of evidence, the court convicted her of murder.

During sentencing proceedings, Prosecutor Sbongiseni Goodenough Mtetwa called the deceased’s grieving father, who testified that the girl was his only child and that he solely provided for her, including school fees and other necessities.

His testimony formed part of the aggravating factors considered by the court.

The mother was sentenced to life imprisonment and declared unfit to possess a firearm.

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