A police sergeant is set to apply for bail tomorrow for the alleged kidnapping and murder of her husband and his pregnant girlfriend. Sergeant Nyiko Nyathi (42) was arrested yesterday after she handed herself over to the police at the Bushbuckridge police station in Mpumalanga, where she works.

MASTERMIND?

SAPS spokesperson Brigadier Donald Mdhluli said Nyathi's husband, Lawrence Alba Mashego (44), was attacked by a group of armed men at his house in Boikhutsong Trust in Bushbuckridge in February 2024. "The armed men robbed him of his Toyota Quantum and Ford Escort, then kidnapped him. The two vehicles were reportedly used by the armed suspects as a mode of transport to reach a certain house in Zoeknog. At the house, they found Victoria Lebyane (44), who was Mashego's female friend, in possession of Mashego's bank cards."

ROBBED AND KILLED

Mdhluli said Lebyane was then robbed of about R4,000 in cash as well as some bank cards belonging to Mashego. "After that, Mashego and Lebyane were murdered by the assailants. The matter was probed by the men and women in blue, where a thorough investigation was carried out, leading to the arrest of four suspects in connection with the incident. One of the suspects then pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 77 years imprisonment,' said Mdhluli. Mdhluli said the police continued to investigate the matter, which led them to link the police sergeant with the gruesome incident. Nyathi made her first appearance before the Bushbuckridge Magistrates Court on Monday, facing charges of murder.