Church man faces prison

Man ‘stole’ R360k from congregants

A senior church member who swindled worshippers of R362,000 after promising to take them to Jerusalem now faces jail for fraud.

Ted Nkuna, 62, was convicted on 28 counts of fraud last month and on Tuesday, he was dealt a blow when his lawyer withdrew his services when he appeared in the Malamulele magistrate’s court in Limpopo during his application for leave to appeal. Nkuna was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment for each count, wholly suspended for 30 days. He was ordered to repay the R362,000 within the period of suspension or serve a sentence of two years for each count. The sentences do not run concurrently. This means should he fail to pay by Monday (September 23), he could face long imprisonment. Nkuna was charged with fraud and convicted after he collected money from 28 worshippers who were promised to go to Jerusalem. Nkuna, who was the tour’s organiser, did not fulfill his part when the time for the trip came; he also did not have the money to repay the congregants for the failed trip. On Tuesday, Nkuna, who is racing against time to repay the money, was at the same court to file for leave to appeal. His lawyer Ntsako Baloyi told the court he was not going ahead with the application because he did not agree on certain things with Nkuna. Both Nkuna and Baloyi refused to talk to the media about the case. Nkuna, who is a senior church member in Giyani, is a retired teacher. On Tuesday, a group of women held placards in court with the words: “Ted, pay back the money.” –