"NPA is Useless": SA Unhappy With NPA's Stance on NSFAS Student Sibongile Mani's R14 Million Theft Conviction

• Sibongile Mani, the former National Student Financial Aid Scheme beneficiary has been found guilty of theft of some of the funds she accidentally received
• The National Prosecuting Authority is pleased with the conviction and believes that a strong case against Mani was laid out
• South Africans think Mani should have not been found guilty of the crime and that the NPA should be focusing on other high profile corruption cases

EAST LONDON - The conviction of Sibongile Mani for the theft of the money she erroneously received in her bank account from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has been welcomed by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) who spent almost four years trying to nail her.

Mani, was initially to receive R1 400 as her monthly allowance from NSFAS, however, R14 million was sent to her instead. The young student who was enrolled at the Walter Sisulu University took that money as a blessing and spent almost R1 million in space of three months.

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Speaking on the conviction, NPA spokesperson Anelisa Ngcakani says the judgment has been welcomed by the NPA. Ngcakani adds that the prosecutors had a really strong case against Mani and a thorough investigation was conducted by prosecutors, according to SABC News.

The NPA recognises that Mani opting not to take the stand and testify worked against, however, that is not the only reason they won the case.

According to TimesLIVE, the East London Regional Court magistrate Twanet Olivier stated that Mani was well aware of her actions when she spent the money that was accidentally deposited into her account.

Olivier based this notion on the fact that at the time, Mani was an accounting student, activist and student leader at WSU.

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Mani is expected to appear in court for a pre-sentencing hearing on 8 March, 2022.

South Africans say Mani did not steal

Heading online, South Africans feel that Mani should not have been convicted of theft. They say she actually did not steal any funds, however, she was indeed dishonest.

Others have called on the NPA to prosecute other people who have been implicated in high profile corruption cases such as Digital Vibes.

Here are some comments:

@Matlho53 said:

"NPA is useless, they welcome this conviction, there is Mark Jooste enjoying his stolen wealth. No arrest, let alone conviction ... This girl was just dishonest, she didn’t steal..."

@GMadlolo said:

"The Guptas ran away with billions...now you want to celebrate a poor girls downfall..."

@MarcusPapiah1 said:

"What about the people who gave her the money?"

@RealMan_dee said:

"What about the ones who made the transfer from NSFAS what happened to him/her?

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@MnqundO said:

"Useless NPA, why is she there only one made to suffer for the error."

WSU student found guilty of stealing R818k in NSFAS funds

Briefly News previously reported that the Walter Sisulu University (WSU) student at the centre of the R14 million National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) debacle was found guilty of theft in the East London Regional Court.

In 2017, the student financial aid scheme mistakenly deposited a large sum of money into Sibongile Mani's account, of which she spent close to R820 000 in just over 70 days, EWN reported.

On Monday, the court disregarded the former accounting student's explanation that she did not intend to deny NSFAS its money, among the evidence presented by the state, having been eligible to receive a fixed monthly food allowance of R1 400.

Source: Briefly News