Cape Town - Thulani Khumalo is facing a murder charge which could lead to life imprisonment if convicted for allegedly conspiring to kill his wife, Ruwayda Solomons, in order to claim money from an insurance policy.
Originally from KwaZulu-Natal, Khumalo, who has two children with Solomons, has been charged with three counts of murder, conspiracy to commit murder and attempting to obstruct the administration of justice for his alleged involvement in the murder of Solomons.
The couple had been in Cape Town en route to visiting their children when they were robbed at gunpoint on February 7, 2019, by three unknown suspects who fled with their vehicle and cellphones.
Solomons, who lived in the Northern Cape was killed during the incident as she tried to resist the attack.
She had been dragged out of the vehicle while seated in the car with Khumalo and was shot in the back and head. She was declared dead at the scene.
The State alleges Khumalo orchestrated Solomon’s murder under the guise of a robbery. He had been named as a beneficiary on a life insurance policy registered in Solomons’s name two weeks prior to the murder.
According to the State, Khumalo deposed a false affidavit stating he had been robbed of his belongings and Solomons was killed as result, but the police found his vehicle abandoned in Khayelitsha two days after the robbery.
He told police he wanted the incident to be investigated but, according to the State, “he knew the truth and in fact had arranged with the assailants to conduct a bogus robbery in order to kill Ruwayda Solomons”.
The State intends to prove Khumalo staged the robbery and set out to have Solomons killed. Khumalo has pleaded not guilty.