A South African wife, who hired accomplices to murder her policeman husband, has been sentenced spend to 22 years in prison.

On Monday, June 7, the Pietermaritzburg High Court sentenced, 46-year-old Nonkululeko Ngwabe, for the murder of her husband, Thulani Ngwabe.

The 51-year-old warrant officer, who was stationed at the Margate Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Unit, was found stabbed to death on a railway line near Port Shepstone beach on Nov. 3, 2019.

Hawks members from the Port Shepstone Serious Organised Crime Unit began investigating the incident. Following a detailed investigation, the officers narrowed down their suspicion on the victim’s wife.

Nonkululeko was arrested in December 2019. The motive behind the slaying is believed to be for benefits including their home and money from her husband's life insurance policy.

"Her apprehension led to the information about her accomplices she allegedly hired to kill her husband," Hawks spokesperson, Captain Simphiwe Mhlongo, said.

The three accused accomplices, 25-year-old Sthembiso Mbona, 23-year-old Nhlakanipho Ndovela, and 25-year-old Saziso Khambule were also arrested for their involvement in the murder.

They all made several appearances in the Port Shepstone Magistrate’s Court and were remanded in custody until the case was transferred to the Pietermaritzburg High Court for trial.

"She pleaded guilty as a result, she was sentenced alone. The motive of the killing looks like there was an interest in the benefits including the house and life policy as money from his work," Mhlongo said.

"Her accomplices will return in the same court on the 18th of June 2021. They are also facing murder charges because they were the ones who were allegedly hired," he added.

In another similar incident, a 19-year-old wife from Pune city in Maharashtra, India, murdered her husband with the help of her paramour and blamed the death on Covid-19.

27-year-old Manohar Namdeo Hande was found dead at his home on May 24. Following the death, his wife, Ashwini Hande, told the police that her husband had tested positive for COVID-19 and had succumbed to the deadly virus.

However, following a preliminary investigation, police officers learned that the man had died of strangulation and not due to COVID-19.

The teen wife and her lover were arrested on Saturday, June 5.

Murder
Representation image. Pixabay

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