Suspected insurance killer cop Rachel Kutumela knew she was being investigated
Rachel Kutumela, the police officer accused of killing people for insurance money, told the court that her arrest didn’t surprise her because she was aware she was being investigated.
Kutumela (43), her sister Annah Shokane (47), and her daughter Flora Shokane (23) appeared at the Polokwane Magistrate’s Court in Limpopo to apply for bail.
The three women face over 30 charges, including nine counts of murder, money laundering, fraud, and other serious crimes.
Rachel Kutumela, her sister Anna Shokane and daughter Flora Shokane, are applying for bail
Kutumela is accused of murdering Sydney Noko Montja, Joyce Tsela Malesa, Navel Kutumela, Maphari Ephraim Chosi, Jacob Petrus Seakamela, and Phuthi Martin Mothata between 2019 and 2024. Montja was her former partner and the father of Flora, who is also involved in the case.
During her bail application, Kutumela explained that she began working as a police officer in 2007. She said, “I have no passport and have no relatives outside South Africa.
I realised I was being investigated in February this year after receiving a call from Sergeant Mabula, an investigating officer from the South African Police Service in Matlala.”
She noted that Mabula was also looking into the case of Navel Kutumela, one of her alleged victims.
Kutumela recounted that Mabula asked her about some bank claims, and she informed him that the claim had not been paid because it was under further investigation.
“I knew then that the Absa investigations also involved the police,” she stated.
She also mentioned that in August, police officers from the provincial office came to see her without her firearm because they felt unsafe, and she agreed to this.
They took her statements and left, but she was shocked when she was arrested, thinking the officers were criminals trying to take her away.
Kutumela was arrested earlier this month while at work at the Senwabarwana police station.
She is accused of killing six people and collecting R10 million in insurance payouts.
The bail hearing is set to continue from today until Friday, and the state plans to oppose her bail.
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