Was the sentencing of NSFAS (WSU) student Sibongile Mani just?

THE case of Walter Sisulu University (WSU) student Sibongile Mani, who was sentenced to five years imprisonment for theft of R818000 from R14 million accidentally deposited into her account by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) in 2017, raises some concern about the judiciary in South Africa.

The Collins English Dictionary defines stealing as “If you steal something from someone, you take it away from them without their permission and without intending to return it”.

Further, picture the following: You visit a supermarket and while scratching in your pocket, and without noticing a R50 note falls from your pocket. A minute later, another customer walks down the aisle and picks up the note. Can it be claimed that the customer stole the R50 note from you?

Ms Mani held a bank account at a reputable bank. She used her bank card to make withdrawals from her bank account. She did not withdraw money from someone else’s bank account. After several withdrawals, she could have noticed that there were still funds left in her account and continued to withdraw money from the bank account.

“Whether she, at any stage, printed a statement to view who deposited the money into her account is not known to me, and one cannot simply assume that she did this and thus claim that she knew that the funds were deposited by NSFAS. The funds could have been winnings of a lottery or even her share of the inheritance of a rich deceased family member. Was it her duty to verify who deposited such a huge amount into her bank account?

What is shocking is that the negligence of NSFAS in performing the erroneous transfer was not questioned at all. Should NSFAS not also be held accountable for this error? How is it possible that a lowlevel clerk was authorised to transfer an amount of R14m to a student’s bank account?

Would the appropriate solution not have been to bill half of the R818000 to Ms Mani, which should be repaid at an interest rate over a reasonable period, while the other half had to be collected from the clerk that made the error? You be the judge. ADIEL ISMAIL | Mountview