fullscreen

eFinder

eFinder

Home › Article

Mom ‘killed for funeral cover survived poisoning the day before’

Sowetan · 🇿🇦 public South Africa · · 557 words · By Mandla Khoza
headphones Listen to the eFinder podcast briefing
Generate a natural audio summary of this story
Daily briefing

What to know about Mom ‘killed for funeral cover survived poisoning the day before’

An Mpumalanga woman who was allegedly raped and killed at the behest of her daughters, who wanted to cash in on her funeral policy, had survived being poisoned the day before, a court heard.

Claims checked 11
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center83%
Right17%

6 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

An Mpumalanga woman who was allegedly raped and killed at the behest of her daughters, who wanted to cash in on her funeral policy, had survived being poisoned the day before, a court heard.

Why it matters

On Wednesday the Mbombela high court heard someone had put insect poison in Wanter Dlamini’s beer.

Common ground

However, she noticed something was not right and did not drink it.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.sowetan.co.za/news/2026-08-06-mom-killed-for-funeral-cover-survived-…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 11 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 6
info Single Source 3
verified Verified By Reference 1
schedule Pending 1
info
Claim 1: “Police found the beer in her fridge on the day her body was found on a railway track in Barberton.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided evidence for claim 2 consists of general definitions of police and the Minneapolis Police Department, which are irrelevant to the specific case of Wanter Dlamini in Barberton.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — It is also the largest police department in Minnesota. Formed in 1867, it is the second-oldest police department in Minnesota, after the Saint Paul Police Department that formed in 1854. A short-lived…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minneapolis_Police_Department
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The police are a constituted body of people empowered by a state with the aim of enforcing the law and protecting the public order as well as the public itself. [1] .
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Police
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Mar 23, 2011 · We in the Minneapolis Police Department gain our authority from the community. We recognize that public safety is not just the absence of crime but the presence of justice. You can lear…
https://www.minneapolismn.gov/government/departments/police/
check_circle
Claim 2: “Old Mutual stopped the claim after police became involved.”
CORROBORATED
The source 'Cops stop funeral payout after policy fraud uncovered – dailysun' explicitly mentions that the claim was being processed at Old Mutual but police intervention stopped the payout.
info
Claim 3: “Evidence from Matseha Sadiki of the SAPS national laboratory showed a beer meant to be drunk by Dlamini the day before she was killed contained poison used to kill insects.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The specific detail regarding Matseha Sadiki of the SAPS national laboratory and the insect poison in the beer is mentioned in one specific source.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Evidence from Matseha Sadiki of the SAPS national laboratory showed a beer meant to be drunk by Dlamini the day before she was killed contained poison used to kill insects.
https://www.sowetan.co.za/news/2026-08-06-mom-killed-for-fun…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Los Alamos National Laboratory addresses national security challenges by advancing breakthroughs in science and technology. We work alongside the Department of Energy to support energy advancements an…
https://www.lanl.gov/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The family of two women from Mpumalanga who orchestrated the death of their mother is reeling after they found out what the pair did. Wanter Dlamini's daughters planned her brutal murder for a R80 000…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0v3J2RdtQo
verified
Claim 4: “The evidence from Dr Daniel Sithole confirmed Dlamini was raped vaginally and anally before she was killed.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The provided evidence for claim 5 discusses a different murder trial (Stacey Stites) and general medical/sports topics, providing no information about Dr. Daniel Sithole or Wanter Dlamini's autopsy.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations was an international football tournament held in the Ivory Coast from 13 January to 11 February 2024. The 24 participating national teams were required to register a squ…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_Africa_Cup_of_Nations_squ…
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Beauty and the Bester is a 2025 three-part true crime documentary series that explores the story of convicted South African murderer and rapist Thabo Bester, who faked his death and escaped from priso…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beauty_and_the_Bester
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — A serial killer is typically a person who murders three or more people, in two or more separate events over a period of time, for primarily psychological reasons. There are gaps of time between the ki…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_serial_killers_by_numb…
+ 3 more evidence sources
info
Claim 5: “On Wednesday the Mbombela high court heard someone had put insect poison in Wanter Dlamini’s beer.”
SINGLE SOURCE
While the general event of poisoning is corroborated, the specific detail about 'insect poison in beer' heard at the Mbombela High Court is only explicitly detailed in one provided source snippet; other sources mention poisoning generally.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2026 South African municipal elections will be held on 4 November 2026 across South Africa, to elect councils for all district, metropolitan and local municipalities in each of the country's nine …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_South_African_municipal_e…
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — David Dabede Mabuza (25 August 1960 – 3 July 2025), also known as DD Mabuza, was a South African politician who served as deputy president of South Africa from February 2018 to February 2023. He was t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Mabuza
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Leonard Mzilikazi Ndzukula, known professionally as Mzilikazi wa Afrika (born 26 November 1971), is a South African investigative journalist, music producer, and author of Nothing Left to Steal. He ga…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mzilikazi_wa_Afrika
+ 3 more evidence sources
schedule
Claim 6: “The policy would pay R80,000 if she died accidentally, so they allegedly took Dlamini’s body to a railway line for a train to run over it.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
check_circle
Claim 7: “The state alleges Ndwandwa took out a R40,000 funeral insurance policy in Dlamini’s name and worked with Nonhlanhla and Bathabile to kill her.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources state that Ndwandwa took out a policy in Dlamini's name and conspired with the daughters to kill her, though the specific amount (R40,000 vs R80,000) varies slightly between sources.
check_circle
Claim 8: “An Mpumalanga woman who was allegedly raped and killed at the behest of her daughters, who wanted to cash in on her funeral policy, had survived being poisoned the day before, a court heard.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent web sources report that Wanter Dlamini survived a poisoning attempt the day before she was killed.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The term girl is sometimes used colloquially to refer to a young or unmarried woman; however, during the early 1970s, feminists challenged such use because the use of the word to refer to a fully grow…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woman
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The menopause usually starts in the late forties, and ends in the early fifties. Between these ages, women go through a menstrual cycle, once a month. If such a woman has sex with a man, at the right …
https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woman
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Labor shortages during World War II led to an influx of women in the workforce, which helped to build toward the women's liberation movement of the 1960s and '70s. Since then, women have gained greate…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_the_United_States
check_circle
Claim 9: “The court heard Bathabile, Ndwandwa and a former police officer known as “Maseko” went to Old Mutual’s offices to lodge a claim on the insurance policy taken out in Dlamini’s name without her knowledge”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm that Bathabile, Ndwandwa, and a former officer named Maseko went to Old Mutual to claim an insurance policy taken out without Dlamini's knowledge.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The court heard Bathabile, Ndwandwa and a former police officer known as “Maseko” went to Old Mutual’s offices to lodge a claim on the insurance policy taken out in Dlamini’s name without her knowledg…
https://www.sowetan.co.za/news/2026-08-06-mom-killed-for-fun…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Nombuso Ndwandwa, Steen Mashakeng and Bathabile Mthunywa are standing trial in the Mbombela High Court.“That’s when they informed me that there was a policy that was opened in her name and it was clai…
https://www.snl24.com/news/cops-stop-funeral-payout-after-po…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The state alleges Ndwandwa took out a life insurance policy in Dlamini’s name and worked with Nonhlanhla and Bathabile to kill her.
https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2026-08-05-cou…
check_circle
Claim 10: “Dlamini’s daughter Bathabile Mthunywa, 39, their neighbour Nombuso Ndwandwa, 41, and Steen Mashakeng, 36, are on trial for the rape and murder of the 62-year-old woman.”
CORROBORATED
Three independent web sources confirm that Bathabile Mthunywa (39), Nombuso Ndwandwa (41), and Steen Mashakeng (36) are on trial for the rape and murder of 62-year-old Wanter Dlamini.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Ndwandwa, Mashakeng and Bathabile have pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit murder, rape, theft, murder and fraud. Bathabile and Ndwandwa are out on bail, while Mashakeng remains in c…
https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2026-08-05-cou…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Dlamini’s daughter Bathabile Mthunywa, 39, their neighbour Nombuso Ndwandwa, 41, and Steen Mashakeng, 36, are on trial for the rape and murder of the 62-year-old woman.
https://www.sowetan.co.za/news/2026-08-06-mom-killed-for-fun…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Dlamini's daughter, Bathabile Mthunywa, 39, along with their neighbour Nombuso Ndwandwa, 41, and Steen Mahakeng, 36, are facing charges of rape and murder.
https://briefly.co.za/south-africa/249153-mpumalanga-daughte…
check_circle
Claim 11: “Mashakeng is the boyfriend of Dlamini’s other daughter, Nonhlanhla Mthunywa, who entered into a plea agreement with the state over the matter and is serving a 20-year sentence.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm Nonhlanhla Mthunywa entered a plea agreement and was sentenced to 20 years for the murder of her mother.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The Mpumalanga High Court in Mbombela convicted and sentenced Valencia Nonhlanhla Mthunywa (33) to 20 years of direct imprisonment on January 29 for the murder of her biological mother, Wanter Jabulil…
https://news365.co.za/daughter/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Mashakeng is the boyfriend of Dlamini’s other daughter, Nonhlanhla Mthunywa, who entered into a plea agreement with the state over the matter and is serving a 20-year sentence.
https://www.sowetan.co.za/news/2026-08-06-mom-killed-for-fun…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The Mpumalanga Division of the High Court in South Africa on Monday, January 29, 2024, convicted and sentenced Valencia Nonhlanhla Mthunywa (33), to 20 years of direct imprisonment for the murder of h…
https://ceaf.org.ng/south-african-woman-is-sentenced-to-pris…
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.