Update
GEORGE NEWS - Cellphone evidence showed in court on Wednesday 28 October indicated that two of the three accused in the Hlompho Mohapi murder were in the Herold’s Bay area on the day she died.
Mohapi’s body was found on the Voëlklip road near Herold’s Bay on 5 July 2018.
The analysed cellphone evidence presented by a Hawks senior forensic analyst showed that both Meliswe Monqo and his wife, Siphosihle Pamba’s cellphones were picked up by the Moeras River cellphone tower, which covers the area west of the George Airport near Herold’s Bay, at approximately 17:58 on Thursday 5 July 2018. A signal from Monqo’s phone was also picked up by the same tower at 12:50 that day.
Signals from the cellphone of the third accused, Phumlani Qhusheka’s phone, were picked up by towers in George at 03:50 that morning and then his number was inactive until 15:29 that afternoon when it became active in Mohapi’s handset.
Mohapi’s number was picked up by the Moeras River tower shortly before 13:00 on the afternoon of her death. Afterwards, all calls made to her went straight to voicemail.
When Qhusheka was arrested in Knysna two days later, on 7 July, he was in possession of Mohapi’s phone.
The records also showed numerous communications between the three accused leading up to the day of Mohapi’s murder and until Qhusheka was arrested. It also showed that there was communication between Pamba and Mohapi the day before her death and between Pamba and the nurse who drew Mohapi’s blood for an HIV test at Thembalethu Square.
When the nurse, who was duly authorised by an insurance company to draw Mohapi’s blood for an HIV test, testified on 14 October, the court heard that she took a sample of Mohapi's blood at Thembalethu Square as arranged and was under the impression that the HIV test was required by an insurance company for a policy. She did not have any knowledge as to what policy it was.
However, Mohapi's boyfriend testified earlier that he accompanied her to Thembalethu Square for her blood to be drawn for an HIV test, and his understanding was that it was a prerequisite for the job at George Airport that she would be interviewed for the following day, the day she was murdered.
Mohapi was allegedly lured to her death under false pretence of a job interview at the airport. Life and funeral policies worth nearly R5-million were taken out on her name shortly before she was murdered.
Insurance assessor testifies
On Monday 26 October, Eric Buckle, a life claims assessor at OUTsurance from Johannesburg, testified.
He explained the procedure when policies are taken out and how the claims process works. He reiterated that all calls are recorded and that during calls the sales advisor tells the client to provide true and correct information and that any incorrect information might influence the cover or the outcome of the claims.
The court also heard that HIV tests are only necessary when taking out comprehensive cover. Three of the four calls that were made to OUTsurance by a woman, were for accidental death cover only. The voice recordings were played to one of the witnesses, a family member of Mohapi who also knew Pamba, who identified the voice in the recordings as that of Pamba.
Buckle told the court that on 11 July 2018, a man who said he was Mohapi's life partner informed OUTsurance that she was stabbed to death on 5 July that year. The same person also provided the claims advisor with an e-mail address and contact details for the claim.
On 12 July, Buckle had a look at system-generated e-mails and noticed that a life policy to the value of R3-million was taken out less than five days before the claim was filed.
He subsequently discovered that more life insurance policies had been taken out on Mohapi's life from Clientele Life and One Life Direct. These policies, as well as the policies from OUTsurance, were all taken out on 3 July - two days before Mohapi was murdered.
Other victims
The accused allegedly also attempted to kill another woman using a similar modus operandi in the Eastern Cape and also took out life and funeral policies at various companies on two other women's names without their knowledge. These incidents date back as far as 2017.
Police officers from Queenstown and King William's Town in the Eastern Cape testified this week, as well as a friend of Mohapi who was added as a beneficiary to one of these policies without her knowledge.
A total of nearly R30-million's worth of life and funeral policies were allegedly taken out on the intended victims' names.
The case has been postponed until 8 February 2021.
The case serves in front of Honourable Judge Taswell Papier. Adv Evadne Kortjé is for the state, Adv Johan Visser (SC) represents Monqo, Adv Dawie Scholtz represents Pamba and Att Louise Luterek will be representing Qhusheka.
Previous articles:
- Update: Claims asessor testifies
- Pathologist testifies to brutality of Hlompho's murder
- Mohapi was brutally murdered, court hears
- Witnesses testify in Mohapi murder trial
- Mohapi murder: Pastor pleads guilty murder
- 29 charges against Mohapi murder accused
- Mohapi murder trial starts in High Court
- Mohapi murder trial 'locked down'
- Mohapi murder trial date set
- Mohapi murder: Pre-trial to continue in March
- Mohapi trial to start in 2020
- Hlompho Mohapi murder: What we know
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