Faith Nyasuguta
A South African female ex-student who went on a spending spree after erroneously receiving about $1m (£700,000) in her bank account has been convicted of theft and jailed for five years.
In June 2017, Sibongile Mani received 14m rand instead of her monthly student grant of 1,400 rand in and immediately commenced spending it, the court was told during trial.
The money was sent by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) – via payment services firm IntelliMali – while she was a learner at the Walter Sisulu University.
According to the court, Mani did not report the error – instead, within two hours of receiving it, she started spending the money.
By the time her bank account was blocked, the student had spent about $70,000 in 48 different places across the country in a 73-day span.
The funds are reported to have gone to weaves, cell phones, liquor, bedding, gift cards and luxurious goods.
While pronouncing her judgment, East London Regional Magistrate Twanette Olivier noted that it was remarkable that Mani had managed to splurge so much across the country each day.
She confirmed that several students would have been affected had IntelliMali not paid back the money she had spent.
Further, the magistrate ruled that the spending spree was catalysed by “greed not need”, dismissing an argument that she was a victim of an impoverished background.
“The only sentence that is appropriate is direct imprisonment,” she said.
According to Mani’s lawyer, her client would appeal at a hearing on April 11.
The case has sparked nationwide debate, with some seeing what she did as justifiable in a country with one of the most unequal societies in the world – and where a lot more is lost through corruption.
According to many social media users, the five-year sentence is too harsh for a young first-time offender who happened to come across a large amount of money in her account.
The 31-year-old will be eligible for parole after serving one third of her five-year sentence.
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