In Mpumalanga, South Africa, Nyiko Nyathi, a 42-year-old police sergeant, was taken into custody in relation to the abduction and savage murder of her husband and his “female friend.”

Brigadier Donald Mdhluli, a spokesman for the Mpumalanga provincial police, said the officer turned herself in to the police at Bushbuckridge police station.

She was charged with the murder of her husband and another woman when she appeared in the Bushbuckridge Magistrate’s Court on Monday, March 10, 2025.

“According to information, in February 2024, Lawrence Alba Mashego, 44, was reportedly attacked by a group of armed men at his house in Boikhutsong Trust in Bushbuckridge. The armed men robbed him of his Toyota Quantum and Ford Escort, then he got kidnapped,” said Mdhluli.

“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, Mashego’s female friend, in possession of Mashego’s bank cards.”

After that, Lebyane was robbed of roughly R4,000 in cash and some of Mashego’s bank cards. The attacker then proceeded to murder Mashego and Lebyane.

“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.

The police sergeant was implicated in the murder of her husband Mashego and Lebyane as the police stepped up their investigations.

The case was rescheduled for a formal bail application on Wednesday after the court appearance on Monday.

Nyathi’s arrest has been welcomed by Major General Zeph Mkhwanazi, the acting provincial commissioner of police in Mpumalanga.

He emphasized that regardless of a person’s position or social standing, the law will take its course against anyone suspected of committing a crime.

“Any criminality within our ranks will not be tolerated by the SAPS,” Mkhwanazi stated.