By Everson Luhanga
He killed his son and two of his wife’s teen relatives and cashed in the funeral policies.
The trio all died mysteriously after eating pies he bought for them, which were later discovered to have been poisoned.
The three died on different dates between 2020 and 2022.
Daniel Mokwai, 62, was arrested on Monday 26 August. He appeared in the Bloemhof Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday to face three murder charges.
North West police spokesperson Colonel Adele Myburgh said he was remanded in custody and will appear again on Wednesday, 4 September, for legal representation.
She detailed how Mokwai allegedly killed the three.
“Initially, three family members, who died over a period of three years, were buried and considered to have died due to natural causes.
“In all three cases, the accused successfully claimed from insurance policies,” said Myburgh.
“However, family members reported him to the police after becoming suspicious that he murdered their relatives by allegedly buying all three of them pies.”
She said the victims would then get sick after eating the pie and eventually die.
“The bodies of all three deceased were exhumed and pathology reports confirmed that they were poisoned, leading to the murder investigations,” she said.
Myburgh said in the first incident, reported on Saturday 5 December 2020, a 16-year-old boy died at midday between Phuduhudu and Gopane, close to Bloemhof.
The boy was a relative of the accused’s wife.
“The second deceased, who was also the accused’s wife’s relative and aged 17, died on Wednesday night, 1 December 2021, in Boitumelong Township, outside of Bloemhof.
“The last victim, Mothibi Alpheos Mokwai, 31, was the accused’s son. He died on Sunday afternoon, 9 October 2022, at his house in Mathyse Street in Bloemhof,” said Myburgh.
Provincial police commissioner Lieutenant-General Sello Kwena called on insurance companies and members of the public to report cases where they suspect foul play or criminal activity.
Pictured above: Daniel Mokwai.
Source: SAPS
