BREAKING
WSU student appears in court over 'R14m theft'
The Walter Sisulu University student who accidentally received a whopping R14.1-million rand from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), appeared in the East London Magistrate's Court on Tuesday.
Sibongile Mani, 28, was arrested on Tuesday morning by the Serious Commercial Crimes unit after she was asked to hand herself over at the Hawks’ Eastern Cape provincial office in East London.
It is alleged that during June last year, Mani illegally received millions from NSFAS, spending just over R810 000 on personal items over a period of three months.
Three months after she was paid out, the anomaly was detected by the scheme.
The company tasked with the administration of NSFAS’s food and book allowances, IntelliMali, indicated at the time that they would lay charges.
In August, reports showed that Mani had allegedly spent an average of about R11 000 a month.
By the time the error was detected, she had transformed herself and her friends into glamorous women, sporting expensive weaves, carrying iPhone 7 cellphones, slugging back shots of R700-a-bottle whisky and emulating their music star idols, especially Beyonce.
Mani was released on a warning and is expected to appear in court again on July 2...
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