Former police officers Rosemary Ndlovu and Nomsa Mudau have each been sentenced to 10 years’ direct imprisonment for plotting to have Mudau’s husband killed in 2018.
The sentence was handed down in the Kempton Park Regional Court on Wednesday, nearly five months after the pair were convicted of incitement to commit murder.
Ndlovu’s latest sentence will run concurrently with the life sentences she is already serving for the murders of family members and her partner in an earlier insurance-related case.
The latest case involved a failed plan to kill Mudau’s then-husband, Justice Mudau, after an alleged arrangement involving prospective hitmen and an insurance payout.
The court found that the State had proved the alternative charge of incitement, instigation, command or procurement of a person to commit murder in terms of section 18(2)(b) of the Riotous Assemblies Act 17 of 1956.
The pair were acquitted of conspiracy to commit murder after the court found that there was insufficient evidence to prove that charge.
The National Prosecuting Authority said both accused were serving police officers at the time of the alleged plot.
In aggravation of sentence, senior State advocate Riana Williams argued that the offence was particularly serious because the women had been entrusted with upholding the law and protecting the public.
Williams also argued that neither accused had shown remorse. Mudau had been married to the intended victim, while Ndlovu had allegedly helped connect her to men who could carry out the killing.
The court heard that Ndlovu approached a man who had previously been involved in the murders of members of her family and asked him to assist Mudau with the planned killing.
Further investigations led by Captain Kheswa Mabunda established that Ndlovu told the man that Mudau would contact him directly to discuss the proposed murder.
Several telephone conversations and meetings later took place between Mudau and the men in Tembisa.
During those engagements, Mudau allegedly asked the men to kill her husband. She claimed that he was abusive and involved in extramarital affairs.
The court also heard that Mudau intended to pay the men after claiming insurance benefits following her husband’s death.
The planned killing was not carried out. The men who had been approached later warned Justice Mudau that he was being targeted.
Justice reported the matter to police, leading to the arrests of Ndlovu and Mudau.
The case was investigated after the intended victim was alerted to the alleged plot. The evidence included testimony about meetings, telephone conversations and the role allegedly played by each accused.
Mudau testified in her own defence and denied planning to kill her husband. Ndlovu elected not to testify.
The court convicted both women on the alternative incitement charge on 20 May. The sentencing proceedings were postponed several times while the court awaited a pre-sentence report.
The report was still outstanding when the accused appeared in court in July and again in August. Williams previously told the court that a social worker had been tasked with preparing it, but that efforts to secure the report had been unsuccessful.
The court eventually proceeded to sentence the pair on Wednesday, 14 October.
NPA Gauteng spokesperson Magaboke Mohlatlole said the prosecution had proved that both women had incited others to commit murder.
“The court accepted the State’s submissions and found that the prosecution had successfully proved the alternative charge of incitement to commit murder,” Mohlatlole said.
“Both accused were sentenced to 10 years’ direct imprisonment.”
Mohlatlole said the NPA welcomed the sentence as confirmation that people who plan, encourage or incite murder can be held accountable even when the intended killing does not take place.
“No person entrusted with enforcing the law is above the law,” he said.
“The NPA will continue to prosecute without fear, favour or prejudice those who abuse positions of public trust to facilitate or encourage serious criminal conduct.”
The sentence imposed on Ndlovu will run at the same time as the sentences she is already serving. She will not serve the latest 10 years consecutively after her existing sentence.
Ndlovu is serving six concurrent life sentences after being convicted in 2021 of murdering five family members and her partner for financial gain through life insurance and funeral-policy payouts.
She was also sentenced to an additional 125 years in that case, according to previous court reporting. Her earlier convictions established that the victims had been killed in a series of insurance-related crimes.
The six life sentences relate to the deaths of people close to Ndlovu. The prosecution in that case said she pursued financial benefits after the deaths and had arranged or participated in the killings.
The latest case is separate from those murders. It concerns the alleged attempt to recruit people to kill Mudau’s husband and the conviction for incitement.
The court did not find that Justice Mudau was killed. He survived after the alleged hitmen warned him and he reported the plot to police.
Justice previously said the case had caused him years of anxiety. After the conviction, he said he believed justice had been served and that he could finally sleep after eight years of uncertainty.
“I believe justice has been served and I will finally sleep tonight after eight years of lack of sleep,” he said.
The court heard that Mudau persisted with the plan even after one of the men stopped communicating with her. The State argued that this showed the seriousness of her conduct and the determination to have the alleged plan carried out.
Williams submitted that the fact that the intended killing was not completed did not reduce the seriousness of the offence. The prosecution argued that the women had taken steps to set the plan in motion and had involved people who could carry out the murder.
The NPA said the case demonstrated that an intended victim did not have to die before those who incited a murder could be prosecuted and convicted.
The men approached in the alleged plot became key witnesses after they disclosed the plan to Justice. Their warning allowed police to investigate before the proposed killing could take place.
The prosecution’s case included evidence about how Ndlovu allegedly connected Mudau to the men and how Mudau allegedly communicated with them about killing her husband.
The sentence also brought a new legal consequence for Ndlovu, who remains in prison for the earlier murders. Because the new sentence runs concurrently, the court order does not add a separate 10-year period after her existing life sentences.
Mudau, who is no longer a serving police officer, will serve the 10-year sentence imposed for the incitement conviction.
Both women maintained that they had not committed murder. The sentencing court found that the alternative charge had been proved, while the conspiracy charge was not.
The case highlights the distinction between a completed murder and conduct aimed at persuading, arranging or procuring another person to commit one. The intended victim in this matter survived because he was warned before the alleged plan could be executed.
The NPA said the outcome reaffirmed that former police officers and other people who hold positions of public trust remain subject to criminal law.
Ndlovu remains incarcerated under the sentence imposed for the earlier insurance-related murders. Mudau’s 10-year direct sentence follows her conviction for participating in the alleged plot against her husband.
The prosecution welcomed the outcome and said it would continue pursuing cases involving people who abuse positions of trust to facilitate serious crimes.