Inside Ndlovu’s gambling sprees
Ex-police officer spent many nights at Emperors Palace
Alleged insurance claims killer and former policewoman Nomia Rosemary Ndlovu’s antics in court this past week brought both fear and disbelief to many South Africans.
Staff at Emperors Palace, east of Johannesburg, where she allegedly spent her supposedly ill-gotten wealth, told Sunday World that they were shocked by the revelation that she was the mastermind behind the serial murders of her family.
“Rosemary was always here gambling, and she loved her gin and tonic. She would spend money on machines and mingle with some of the people here. She would spend thousands of rand a night and at some stage she would win,” said a casino employee who chose to speak on condition of anonymity.
“We didn’t know what job she was doing, and sometimes she would get angry when she lost money through gambling.”
Another employee said that Ndlovu was giving big tips to those who would serve her alcohol and she would tell them that they will be blessed one day.
“I still don’t believe that she had done such a thing as she was always a cool person.
“She would tip us handsomely and I am shocked that she is accused of these murders. This is disturbing,” said a casino staff member.
Ndlovu, who appeared in the High Court sitting at the Palm Ridge magistrates court this week, was arrested in March 2018 at a taxi rank in Bushbuckridge after she was caught on a hidden camera telling undercover police how to murder her sister and the five children she was staying with in Bushbuckridge, Mpumalanga.
The state claims she succeeded in orchestrating the deaths of at least six relatives. She allegedly cashed in on more than R1-million.
She is alleged to have plotted the murders of her cousin Witness Madala Homu in 2012, her sister Audrey Somisa Ndlovu in 2013 and her boyfriend Yingwani Maurice Mabasa in 2015.
The state also alleges that she had a hand in the slaying of her niece Zanele Motha, who was killed in 2016, her nephew Mayeni Mashaba who was murdered in 2017 and her nephew Brilliant Mashego who was taken down in 2018.
Ndlovu allegedly received R131 000 from life insurance policies following Homu’s death, R717 000 following Audrey’s slaying and R416 000 after Mabasa’s demise.
Ndlovu’s landlord Percy Maluleke said he was approached by his friend Mabasa to rent his two-bedroom house in Clayville extension 29, outside Olifantsfontein industrial site in 2011. He said he was not aware that the deceased was coming to live with his partner, who is now standing accused of his murder.
Maluleke said Mabasa had frowned on Ndlovu’s gambling habits. “Maurice told me about Rosemary’s gambling problem as she was always out spending money at Emperors Palace.”
Professor Nirmala Gopal from the department of criminology and forensic studies at the University of Kwazulu-natal said based on court appearances of Ndlovu, it was evident that she was not remorseful except when she spoke of her partner.
“Persons who suffer no remorse show sociopathic tendencies and these individuals are self-centred, focusing on their own needs exclusively at the expense of violating others’ rights.
“She believed she will not be apprehended because she is above the law. Any addiction is dangerous, and most addictions require money to sustain.
“In her case, her addiction grew and in order to sustain it, she required larger amounts of money,” said Gopal.
“As a criminologist, the murders are inhumane and brutal. Remember, she is a mastermind, so she hired the perpetrators. She thought this will absolve her,” she said.
Persons who suffer no remorse show sociopathic tendencies