Cape Town – “I miss Mom and Dad.” Those heartbreaking words from the young daughter of murdered couple Lucky and Sabeliwe Mogashoa captured the devastating impact of the crime, even as their killers were sentenced to spend the rest of their lives behind bars.
The child was just one year old when her parents were murdered in March 2022. Now five, she still asks questions about the men responsible for their deaths.
In an emotional voice recording shared with the family, the girl tells her grandmother, Rachel Zwane, that she was thinking about who killed Sabeliwe and Lucky.
[WATCH] The Pretoria High Court judge says the state should have charged Rassie Nkuna and former police officer Jacob Mothibe Chego for the murder of Lucky and Sabeliwe Mogashoa’s unborn child. #Newzroom405 pic.twitter.com/GMresnmd8x
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) September 2, 2026
“After drinking the hot chocolate, I feel so sad because I am thinking about who killed Sabi and Lucky,” she says.
She then tells her grandmother how much she misses her parents and says she wants the killers to die so they cannot kill other people.
The recording was shared by police with the family’s permission ahead of the sentencing of serial killer Rassie Hlabirwa Nkuna and former police officer Jacob Mothibe Chego in the Pretoria High Court on Wednesday.
According to eNCA, Chego, a former Vehicle Crime Unit officer, falsely told the couple that their BMW, which had previously been reported stolen, had been recovered.
The couple was then lured into a trap while their two children were still with them.
The family was taken towards a remote area near the N12 in Ekurhuleni, where Lucky and Sabeliwe were murdered in front of their children.
Sabeliwe was six months pregnant at the time of her death.
TimesLIVE, reported that the evidence presented during the trial showed that Chego had provided Nkuna with the couple’s personal details, including their address, and had released their vehicle from police custody using a fraudulent affidavit.
The children’s ordeal did not end with their parents’ deaths.
The pair were abandoned and later found by a passing motorist, who took them to a police station. The older child, who was eight at the time, later testified in court and became a crucial witness in the case.
The Pretoria High Court on Wednesday sentenced Nkuna and Chego to four life sentences each for their roles in the murders.
[VOICENOTE] With the family’s permission, we share this voice note from the daughter of the late Sabeliwe and Lucky Mogashoa. She was one year old when she lost both parents. Today Rassie Nkuna is being sentenced. https://t.co/bnDHUEqlEh
— Justice, Crime Prevention and Security (@CrimeWatch_RSA) September 2, 2026
According to SABC News they were also sentenced to five years for kidnapping and 15 years for robbery with aggravating circumstances.
The convictions followed a lengthy case in which the State argued that the two men had worked together to lure the couple to their deaths.
In June, the court found Nkuna and Chego guilty of the murders, conspiracy to commit murder, kidnapping, fraud and robbery.
Sowetan reported that the pair had worked together to target the couple for their BMW, with Chego allegedly providing Nkuna with information that enabled the plot.
Police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe said the child’s voice note was a painful reminder of the human cost behind criminal investigations.
“Behind every investigation is a family waiting for answers. Behind every arrest is a victim whose life was taken and loved ones whose lives were forever changed,” Mathe said.
For Nkuna, the Mogashoa murders form part of a wider history of serious violent crime.
He is already serving life imprisonment for the murders of his former girlfriend, Pretty Mazibuko, and her sister, Marcia Mazibuko.
VIDEO: Convicted serial killer Rassie Hlabirwa Nkuna and former police officer Jacob Mothibe Chego have been handed multiple life sentences for the murder of Sabeliwe Mogashoa and her husband, Lucky in May 2022. The Pretoria High Court sentenced them to life imprisonment for… pic.twitter.com/FSzI2GcBtK
— SABC News (@SABCNews) September 2, 2026
Police have also linked him to other murder cases, including the killing of Hillary Gardee, the daughter of former Economic Freedom Fighters secretary-general Godrich Gardee.
Nkuna is expected to stand trial for Gardee’s murder next year.
Gardee was kidnapped and murdered in Mbombela in May 2022, with her body later found along the Sabie Road.
Nkuna also faces a separate case involving the alleged murder of Nonkululeko Nkosi.
The Mogashoa family welcomed the life sentences, saying justice had finally been served after years of waiting.
Their case has also raised questions about the involvement of a former police officer in the murders.
The sentencing brings a measure of justice to the family, but for the Mogashoa children, the consequences of that night will continue long after their parents’ killers are behind bars.
For the youngest child, that grief remains painfully simple: she still misses her mother and father.
Follow African Insider on Facebook, X and Instagram
Picture: Facebook/ SAPS
For more African news, visit Africaninsider.com
Compiled by Glaan Sibuyi
