Gauteng Woman in Court for Allegedly Killing Grandma and Burying Her in Garden, Went Shopping With Sassa Card

• A 31-year-old woman, Rachael Tshabalala, is accused of murdering her grandmother, burning her body and burying her
• She faces charges of murder, theft, fraud, defeating the ends of justice and statutory perjury
• The brutal murder occurred in 2019 and thereafter, Tshabalala went on a shopping spree with her gran’s and Sassa cards

SOWETO - A 31-year-old woman is facing charges of murder, theft, fraud, defeating the ends of justice and statutory perjury.

Rachael Tshabalala is on trial in the Gauteng High Court, sitting in the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court.

She is accused of killing her grandmother, burning her body, and burying her in her yard in 2019. Tshabalala then allegedly made off with her gran’s bank and South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) cards.

According to News24, Tshabalala and her grandmother, Nomalanga Hilda Tshabalala, who lived in Emndeni, were last seen on 14 December 2019. Just days later, Tshabalala reported her grandmother missing.

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The 31-year-old woman was arrested and charged with defrauding Sassa in 2020, and a year later, when she was arrested for fraud, details of her mother’s murder emerged. A tenant found her grandmother’s remains while Tshabalala was in prison.

According to the Western Cape Government, withholding a pensioner’s Sassa card without their consent is illegal.

South Africans react to the alleged murder:

@NNtsuba said:

“Haybo, so much wickedness for one person? I’m shocked.”

@rvheriwa commented:

“We already know how it will end. Psychological evaluation...not fit to plead...acquitted...case closed. It’s hella nice being the other gender.”

Brian Barra posted:

“Some people are heartless in this world, how do you sleep after doing such a thing?”

Nazeem Grootboom added:

“She deserves more than a life sentence.”

Domestic worker and gardener arrested for murdering missing man,78, found buried in his garden

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In a related matter, Briefly News also reported four people have been arrested in connection with the murder of a 78-year-old man who was found buried in his garden in Cresta, Johannesburg.

A gardener and domestic worker were supposedly in on the murder and are among those who were arrested. The man was reported missing over the Easter weekend after a tenant had not seen him for a few days.

Police spokesperson Lt-Col Mavela Masondo said investigations revealed that the victim’s car, a white VW Polo, was spotted driving around the city and there was activity on his bank cards.

Source: Briefly News