“I miss my mom and my dad.” A heartbreaking voice note from the young daughter of murdered police couple Sabeilewe and Lucky Mogashoa has laid bare the pain she still carries, as their killers face sentencing.
The South African Police Service (SAPS) said the family has given permission for the recording to be shared as the men convicted of the couple’s murders prepare to be sentenced.
The officers were murdered in front of their two young children in March 2022.
The child in the voice recording was just one year old when her parents were killed. Her brother was eight at the time.
In the recording, the child tells her grandmother that she misses her parents and had been experiencing stomach pain because she was about to cry.
Her grandmother then reassures her that police had arrested the people responsible for her parents’ deaths.
The police shared the recording on Wednesday morning.
SAPS spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said the voice note highlighted the human cost of violent crime.
“Behind every investigation is a family waiting for answers. Behind every arrest is a victim whose life was taken and loved ones whose lives were forever changed.”
Mathe said the recording was a painful reminder of why police work mattered and why the pursuit of justice must continue.
“We share it with the permission of the family and with the utmost respect for the children, their family and the memory of Sabeilewe and her husband.”
In the recording, the child can be heard telling her grandmother that she feels sad after drinking all her hot chocolate.
Her grandmother asks why she is sad.
The child responds: “Because I’m thinking about my mom and my dad.”
When asked why, she says she misses them so much.
Her grandmother then tells her she has some good news.
“I haven’t shared the good news with you. How the police arrested those people that killed them and locked them in jail. They are locked in jail right now.”
‘I wish he can be in hell’
The child asks whether they are still in jail, and her grandmother confirms that they are.
The child then asks who killed her parents.
The woman responds: “Mm. What are you going to do with that name?
The child replies, “I’m going to… I don’t want him to kill the rest of God’s people.”
“So what are you going to do?” the grandmother asks.
“So I wish he can go and die and be in hell because he killed mom and my dad.”
Her grandmother then tells her that the man responsible is Nkuna.
“Okay. His name is Rassie Nkuna. He’s in jail. He’s in prison. The police are making sure that he never comes out to come back and kill God’s people. Neh? So yeah, are you happy?”
The child says she is happy and that her stomach has stopped aching.
When asked why her stomach was aching, she explains: “Because my aching tummy was because I miss Sabi and Lucky so much and I was about to cry.”
Her grandmother responds: “Really? Only today you speak like a prophet you know. You speak like a prophet because this thing happened this week that they became arrested. And the judge said you are guilty. Both of you are guilty. So God is judging them. Don’t stress anymore neh. Okay. Be strong again neh.”
The child says she will hold it in and will not cry.
Her grandmother reassures her: “And God is going to take away your pain. He’s going to heal you. Okay?”
Image: Supplied / Hawks
Nkuna and former police officer Jacob Mothibe Chego are expected to appear before the Pretoria High Court on Wednesday for sentencing following their convictions for the murders of the Mogashoa couple.
The couple were murdered in March 2022 near the Etwatwa off-ramp along the N12 in Ekurhuleni, in front of their two young children.
Sabeilewe was heavily pregnant when she was killed.
Nkuna is already serving two life sentences for the murders of his then-girlfriend Pretty Mazibuko and her sister, Marcia Mazibuko, in Mpumalanga.
He is also expected to stand trial next year for the murder of Hilary Gardee, the daughter of former EFF deputy president Godrich Gardee.
Nkuna is accused of murdering Gardee in 2022 after allegedly luring her through Facebook.
He allegedly confessed to the killing after Gardee was kidnapped in Mbombela.
Nkuna reportedly used his Facebook account to lure unsuspecting women, leading authorities to suspect he may be a serial killer.
He allegedly committed the murder while on parole after absconding for two years.
The case sparked controversy, with Gardee accusing the State of negligence and claiming that his daughter would still be alive if Nkuna had remained in custody
