This particular fraud case is significant because it was handled by the police’s specialized Money for Murder (MFM) task team in Nelson Mandela Bay, highlighting the serious nature of the fraud.
Details of the conviction:
The Victim: The fraud centered around a man named Ayanda Mvemve, who was stabbed to death in March 2022.
The Action: In the weeks leading up to Mvemve’s murder, Monelwa Gwane, 53, took out multiple funeral policies on his life.
The Fraud: Gwane was convicted on three counts of fraud for repeatedly lying about her relationship with Mvemve to secure the policies, thereby establishing a fraudulent “insurable interest.”
On one policy, she claimed Mvemve was her cousin.
On another, she claimed he was a “wider family member.”
On the third, she claimed he was her brother-in-law.
Claimed Amount: The total value of the three policies was R200,000.
Payout: Two insurance companies paid out claims totalling R80,000 (R50,000 and R30,000). The third company repudiated the R120,000 claim.
Gwane was convicted and sentenced in the Kariega Magistrates’ Court to five years of direct imprisonment on each of the three fraud counts, which were ordered to run concurrently, resulting in an effective five years behind bars.
The conviction was considered an important legal precedent for the specialized police unit in its ongoing investigations into cases where people are murdered for insurance payouts. Although Gwane’s case was separated from a larger syndicate, the method of profiting from an anticipated death through fraudulent policies was the key issue.
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.