Court lays bare violent past of serial rapist and murderer Rassie Nkuna

The violent past of Rassie Nkuna, who is serving a life sentence for murdering his girlfriend and her sister, and who is also awaiting sentence for murdering a man and his pregnant wife, has been laid bare in court.

Records show that Nkuna’s first recorded case was in 2013, when he was accused of reckless driving. Over the next decade, his criminal offending escalated, with him eventually being linked to at least 25 cases, including armed robbery, rape, vehicle theft and murder.

Nkuna’s criminal history is detailed in a clinical psychology report presented at the Pretoria high court last week as the court considers aggravating and mitigating factors ahead of his sentencing for the March 2022 double murder of Gauteng couple Lucky and his pregnant wife, Sabeliwe Mogashoa.

Nkuna and his co-accused, former police officer Jacob Chego, were convicted of the Mogashoa couple’s murders and are expected to be sentenced in September.

Nkuna is already serving a life sentence for murdering his police officer girlfriend, Pretty Mazibuko, and her sister, Marcia, in 2022. He is also on trial for the murder of Nonkululeke Crystal Nkosi and the murder of Hillary Gardee, daughter of EFF deputy president Godrich Gardee.

According to Lt-Gen Favourite Selepe’s report, Nkuna has been linked to at least 25 cases, with the first recorded in 2013, when he was charged with reckless driving.

“The accused person presents a significant threat to human life, with a sudden surge in murders throughout 2022,” Selepe said in her affidavit.

In 2015, Nkuna was sentenced to four years’ direct imprisonment for possession of a stolen vehicle and an unlicensed firearm.

The clinical psychology report of Rassie Nkuna. (screengrab) Records show that he was released on parole in 2016. A year later, he was linked to two cash-in-transit robberies and carjackings.

Between 2018 and 2019, Nkuna is believed to have committed eight armed robberies and was linked through DNA to three rape cases committed in a period of two months.

Selepe said the pattern of offending was particularly concerning.

“Rape had become a regular part of his behaviour, rather than a single event. This behaviour is consistent with a serial rape and thus the classification of serial rapist,” she said.

She added that the combination of armed robberies and rape offences suggested that Nkuna was a highly adaptable offender who posed a significant risk of reoffending.

“Committing both armed robberies and rapes in the same policing area shows a flexible offender, which strongly indicates a high likelihood of reoffending,” Selepe said.

Between 2019 and 2022, Nkuna was back in custody. In January 2022 he was released on parole.

Nkuna is alleged to have used different birthdates to avoid case linkage.

Sowetan, in March 2025, reported on how a parole board released Nkuna, who had absconded from his sentence and was classified as a high risk, despite this, he was not properly monitored. He went on to kill six people before his arrest in August 2022.

Selepe recommended that Nkuna be sentenced to life imprisonment.

“His criminal career demonstrates that neither passage of time nor convictions have produced any reform or cessations of offending.”

A separate confidential psycho-legal report seen by Sowetan and compiled by Col Thabiso Ntshangase also painted a bleak picture of Nkuna’s prospects for rehabilitation.

Ntshangase said the assessment could not establish any mitigating factors because Nkuna refused to co-operate with the assessment.

He concluded that Nkuna posed a significant future risk of violence and sexual offending.

The court also heard mitigation and sentencing submissions relating to Chego.

Ayanda Ndala, the social worker who compiled Chego’s pre-sentence report, said he had no previous convictions and had been described by his family as a kind and loving person.

However, Ndala said the seriousness of the offence left the court with no option but not to impose a suspended sentence.

She recommended that the court impose the prescribed sentence, noting that Chego had not taken responsibility for the offence despite being convicted.