A STATE witness in the case of insurance scammer Agnes Segomotsi Setshwantsho claims to have received death threats.
This was heard in Mmabatho Magistrates Court in the North West on Wednesday, 20 December, during Setshwantsho's bail hearing.
The state senior prosecutor, Dalton Tshinyane, said he was informed that an employee from the Department of Correction Services, which he intends to call and testify in a bail hearing, has been receiving threats.
The witness also requested to be given a formal written order to appear before the court, as the threats purportedly came from Setshwantsho. Setshwantsho was arrested in November after being linked to several murders of her relatives, for whom she allegedly fraudulently obtained life insurance policies on their behalf before killing them.
Setshwantsho faces charges of murder, two counts of fraud, and defeating the ends of justice.
Setshwantsho’s attorney, Nhlanhla Mahlangu, said the state was going to great lengths to portray Setshwantsho as someone to be feared.
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“The state comes before the court and wants us to accept that the member of DCS has been threatened by a detainee [Setshwantsho]."
"The identity of this member is not known by this detainee because we were not told who the person is, so we are threatening this faceless person and that we are going to eradicate her."
“To suggest and to create an impression that a detained person has a capacity, ability, and expertise including the financial means to do what she is been accused of today is far-fetched,” he said.
The police detectives launched an intelligence operation that resulted in the arrest of the accused on 16 November after her suspected involvement in the murder of her relatives for financial gain through insurance claims.
On the witness stand, Sergeant Keshi Mabunda gave a detailed account of the two-month-long extensive investigation, which began after a tip from relatives, cops, and insurance companies.
That included the exhumation of Setshwantsho's 30-year-old niece, Bonolo Modiseemang, which linked Setshwantsho to her death.
According to Bonolo's family, she died last August after allegedly eating a poisoned sandwich and developing complications that led to her death. She was declared to have died of natural causes, which the police ruled out after her body was exhumed and it was determined that she had been poisoned.
Investigations revealed that Setshwantsho had fraudulently obtained insurance on Modiseemang's behalf before her death, raising suspicion among her family.
Modiseemang was covered for R3 million, and her younger sister, who supposedly survived her tricks, was insured for R2 million.
The case was postponed to January 11 for a further bail hearing.
