An Eastern Cape woman has been sentenced to five years behind bars for fraud after she took out multiple funeral policies on Ayanda Mvemve in anticipation of his untimely death more than three years ago. (Photo: iStock) 
An elaborate scheme to profit from the murder of a man in Makhanda came crashing down around a Nelson Mandela Bay woman when she was convicted and sentenced for fraudulent funeral policy claims on Tuesday.
While police officials involved in the investigation were pleased with the judgment handed down in the Kariega Magistrates’ Court, the head of the police’s specialised Money for Murder (MFM) task team said securing the conviction was of vital importance to their string of ongoing investigations.
Monelwa Gwane, 53, was sentenced to an effective five years behind bars after she was found guilty of three counts of fraud.
She took out multiple funeral policies on Ayanda Mvemve in anticipation of his untimely death more than three years ago.
With each transaction, she lied about her relationship with Mvemve to secure the policy in the weeks leading up to his murder.
Stabbed to death
Mvemve was stabbed to death on 27 March 2022. In the four months leading up to his death, numerous funeral policies were taken out in his name across several insurance providers. On three of these policies, Gwane was named as the sole beneficiary.
While it might be suspicious, there is nothing illegal about taking out multiple funeral policies on someone. The red flags were raised when Gwane lied about her relationship with Mvemve, making up a false story with each policy.
“On one policy, she listed herself as a cousin of the deceased, while on another she called herself a ‘wider family member’. On the third policy, she listed Mvemve as her brother-in-law,” MFM lead investigator Captain Piet Potgieter said.
Gwane, an official at the Department of Education, was initially arrested in 2023 alongside Siyabulela Mbane, Pumelele Mongo, Ntobeko Msome, his wife Xolelwa Gqirana Msome, Unathi Peter and Luxolo Mjadu. It was initially suspected that they all formed part of a criminal syndicate linked to nine murders and dozens of fraudulent funeral policies.
/file/attachments/orphans/MurderforMoney_157406.jpg "Siyabulela Mbane, Ntobeko Msome, Xolelwa Msome and Unathi Peter face a string of murder and fraud charges for their alleged involvement in a murder for money syndicate. (Photo: Algoa FM)")
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Mbane, Peter and the Msomes are scheduled to return to the high court in Gqeberha next year, where they face a litany of charges, including murder, conspiracy to commit murder, fraud, racketeering and money laundering related to no less than nine murders and 29 fraudulent funeral policies.
Mbane will face a separate trial with Mongo, who was not tied to the alleged syndicate, but is linked to another murder case.
Gwane and Mjadu’s case could also not be tied to the syndicate murders directly and their matter was separated from the other accused.
It was later found that Mjadu never formed part of the larger syndicate, but identified the trend whereby funeral policies were taken out on people, or upgraded, shortly before they were murdered. He also saw an opportunity to profit and took out policies on some of the victims.
However, he entered into a plea deal with the State whereby he was handed a suspended sentence in exchange for his assistance in continuing investigations into other Murder for Money cases.
Tried and convicted
Gwane, in turn, stood trial and was ultimately convicted and sentenced.
Two insurance companies paid out R50,000 and R30,000 respectively. The third company repudiated a policy worth R120,000.
While she only profited by R80,000, the total fraud still amounts to R200,000.
In its judgment, the court condemned the actions of the accused – how she hatched a plan, weeks in advance, to profit from someone’s death through lies and deceit.
She was convicted on three counts of fraud and sentenced to five years’ direct imprisonment on each of the counts. The court ordered that the sentences run concurrently for an effective sentence of five years.
Potgieter said the judgment and sentence sent a strong message to other perpetrators and showed how the police were willing to go to great lengths to secure convictions.
He also tipped his hat to the rest of his team for their relentless work, and thanked insurance companies and industry bodies for their continued assistance with ongoing investigations.
“This sets a good precedent for all the matters we are currently investigating. We currently have several cases before court, and numerous ongoing investigations, and this judgment is a big step towards securing convictions in other cases,” Potgieter said. DM