‘Mahlangu insurance murder case helped me grow as a detective’

“I would leave work around 11pm and when I got home, I would continue to work [on the case]. In the morning [at work], I would look at the case in between other that came to me even before this one,” he said.

As the investigation progressed, Meselane received a call in April 2023 from a police officer at the Hammanskraal station, who had arrested Mahlangu for possession of a stolen car. Mahlangu also confessed to faking his own death.

Shortly after, another officer from the Soshanguve station called with a missing person docket and sought information about the ongoing murder investigation. The three cops realised they were investigating one case from different angles.

Meselane said he was lost for words to learn that Lerato, whom he was assisting in the case, wasn’t innocent. “I helped her with all the documents she needed to claim the insurance money which was paid in three tranches.

I was shocked that such a young lady could be involved in such a case… the murder of her child’s father. She often called me to ask about updates, she even informed me after the funeral that she was going back to Mpumalanga where she worked.” He said the Mahlangu murder case helped him grow as an investigator.

“It was my first time applying for the exhumation of human remains. I had always investigated murders, but I had never gone as far as exhuming a body.” It was also his first insurance murder case.

He also noted how important it is not to judge people based on first impressions. “At first, Lerato seemed like a genuine person. She would call frequently to check on how the investigation was progressing, but in the end the truth was far darker.” Meselane was relieved when the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) referred the case, his biggest ever, to the high court for trial.

“I always wanted to be a police officer from when I was a child. It’s all I ever knew.” Meselane’s boss, Lt Maripa Molamudi, said:

“We appreciate Meselane’s endless efforts and hard work not in this case only but throughout other cases he has investigated and closed. Meselane did a very good job in this case since day one, and this case was a learning curve for all of us.”  

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