Student in court over accidental R14m windfall
THE Walter Sisulu University student who accidentally received a whopping R14.1-million from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) was arrested yesterday morning and appeared in the East London Magistrate’s Court later.
Sibongile Mani, 28, was released on warning and will appear in court again on July 2.
She was arrested by the Serious Commercial Crimes Unit after being asked to hand herself over at the Hawks’ Eastern Cape provincial office in East London.
It is alleged that in June last year, Mani illegally received millions from the NSFAS and splurged more than R800 000 of the money in three months on personal items.
The mistake was uncovered three months after the money was paid into her account.
The company tasked with the administration of the NSFAS’s food and book allowances, IntelliMali, indicated at the time that they would lay a criminal complaint.
Mani – a second-year accountancy student and branch secretary of Pasma, the student wing of the PAC – spent an average of R11 000 a day from June 1, when the money landed in her account.
She transformed herself and her friends into glamorous women with expensive weaves, toting iPhone 7 cellphones, slugging shots of R700 bottles of whiskey and emulating their music idols, especially Beyonce.
But her transformation triggered the suspicions of her political opponents – SA Students Congress members – who ratted on her.
Samkelo Mqhayi, deputy branch secretary of Sasco and SRC student support officer, said in August that he was the one who had outed Mani.
He said their suspicions grew when a receipt from SPAR was leaked showing she had a balance of just more than R13.6-million.