Man remanded after R1.6m WSU student funds defrauded
An Eastern Cape man who allegedly defrauded Walter Sisulu University (WSU) out of more than R1.6m by diverting National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) funds meant for struggling students between 2018 and 2021, was remanded in custody by the Mthatha commercial crimes court on Monday.
Siyambonga Mhlakaza, 34, appeared in the Mthatha court after his arrest at his Xhora (previously Elliotdale) home on Friday morning.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson Luxolo Tyali said Mhlakaza would remain in custody until his formal bail application, which is scheduled for May 17.
He has been charged with 15 counts of fraud and corruption after being arrested by the provincial police’s commercial crimes unit.
Mhlakaza is not a university employee, but is believed to work closely with someone from the institution who has yet to be identified.
Tyali said: “The amount involved so far is R1.6m and is expected to increase as more charges could soon be added.
“He is not employed by the university, but it is alleged he got information from a certain individual at WSU about students who were to receive NSFAS funding.
“His [alleged] modus operandi is that he, with the assistance of an insider, would corrupt the system and change the students’ banking details, replacing them with his own bank account, and the money would be fraudulently transferred to one of his many bank accounts.”
Tyali refused to divulge more details, saying investigations were still at a sensitive stage.
University spokesperson Mathabo Hendricks did not respond to questions on Monday.
However, the Dispatch understands that not only Nsfassponsored students fell victim to the alleged crimes, but that university lecturers were also targeted.
University insiders told the Dispatch that Mhlakaza had been arrested after a senior lecturer at the university’s Mthatha campus opened a criminal case in 2020, after his entire salary and bonus were allegedly diverted to another bank account.
It is understood the university had reported the matter to law enforcement agencies as far back as 2019, when some of the funds meant for struggling students were found to have been diverted elsewhere.
“The cases were opened between September 2019 and May 2020. It is believed he [allegedly] has seven bank accounts that he used to siphon off some of these monies at different times during this period.”
Another insider said: “Mhlakaza refuses to identify the inside person he [allegedly] worked with.”
WSU students, as at many other higher learning institutions in SA, embarked on violent protests in recent weeks over unpaid NSFAS allowances.
At WSU’S Mthatha campus, a
His [alleged] modus operandi is that he, with the assistance of an insider, would corrupt the system and change the students’ banking details, replacing them with his own bank account
police vehicle was torched in April, allegedly by angry students protesting over unpaid NSFAS allowances.
Even though a student was arrested for the alleged incident, appeared in court and was granted bail, student leaders at the institution have denied any student involvement in the torching of the police vehicle.
NSFAS spokesperson Kagisho Mamabolo on Friday told the media that the scheme had received almost a million applications in 2021 from all of the country’s institutions of higher learning, with 700,000 of these being accepted.
Mamabolo said in many cases it was not the scheme’s fault that money had not been paid to deserving students. He said money was transferred to institutions but that they sometimes delayed allowance payments to students.
On Monday, University of Fort Hare students also took to the streets outside their Alice campus, barricading streets with burning objects and protesting over unpaid NSFAS allowances.