By: Staff Reporter
Community members of Zoeknog in Bushbuckridge are demanding that the death sentence be imposed upon Sergeant, Nyiko Jacobeth Nyathi.
This due to the crimes she has been accused of, which include two counts of murder, robbery, attempted murder and kidnapping.
It is reported that in February 2024 Nyathi hired hitmen to kill her ex-husband, Alba Lawrence Mashego (44) and his girlfriend, Victoria Lebyane who was four months pregnant at the time of the incident.
These men later fingered Nyathi for the orchestration of the attack after investigations led to their arrests.
In March this year, a warrant of arrest was issued against her and the sergeant went into hiding for an entire weekend before eventually handing herself over to the police at Bushbuckridge police station where she was stationed as a detective.
In a media statement, Mpumalanga police spokesperson Brigadier Donald Mdhluli said the armed men robbed Mashego of his Toyota Quatum and Ford Escort before kidnapping him in February and eventually killing him and his girlfriend
Nyathi appeared before the Bushbuckridge Magistrate’s Court in June for a bail judgment however it was denied. Magistrate Tanya du Preez who is presiding over the case told the gallery that it would not be in the interest of justice to grant the sergeant bail.
“investigations have revealed that, Nyathi was in communication the hitmen and we find it strange that she could speak to people accused of killing her former husband. The State investigators also found that one of the state witness was poisoned while in prison” she said.
Tabling the defense’s affidavit, du preez told the court how Nyathi stated that she would not plead guilty to the crimes she is accused of because the state does not have a strong case against her.
In attendance were the sergeant’s former in laws and they told The Youth Voice newspaper that their brother, Alba Lawrence did not deserve to die in the manner that he died and that they wish that Nyathi is never released from jail.
A family member who opted not to be named for fear of victimization also said that they are disappointed to hear how Nyathi was involved in the whole ordeal.
In an interview with The Youth Voice Newspaper Victoria lebyane’s mother, Erka Malomane detailed how painful it is for her as a mother to watch her grandchild child grow up without her mother and that the whole experience has left her traumatized.
” I attend all the court sessions however I truly cannot hear anything being said in there. Nyiko has hurt us beyond measure and I pray that all of this just comes to an end soon” . She said.
To support the lebyane and Mashego families, community members protested outside the court, chanting that the accused should not be granted bail or else they will allow mob justice to take its course.