Former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela Says Sibongile Mani’s Conviction Is ‘Curious’, SA Reacts
- Former public protector Thuli Madonsela weighed in on Sibongile Mani's conviction of five years in jail
- Madonsela she found the sentencing rather odd, given the circumstances of how the money was transferred to Mani
- South Africans took to social media to react to Madonsela's comments and users are divided
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JOHANNESBURG - Former public protector Thuli Madonsela expressed her views on the case of Sibongile Mani. Mani spent more than R800 000 that was accidentally transferred to her from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS).
Madonsela said that she found the sentence of five years' imprisonment to be peculiar and compared Mani’s case to others.
Source: Getty Images
The former public protector said she knew of no other cases where an ‘erroneous recipient’ of money was jailed, according to TimesLIVE. NSFAS did not suffer financial setbacks over the incorrect overpayment to Mani, according to DispatchLIVE. NSFAS claims there was no basis for criminal proceedings.
South Africans are divided on the Mani case
@StellenboschM commented:
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“She is wrong, the girl went on an elaborate scheme to try and unlawfully use the funds on things not intended.”
@rkungoane posted:
“But she chowed some of the money mos. I thought it was a criminal offence, but hey I'm no lawyer.”
@HlenganiHarry shared:
“No one must be jailed. They can only arrange for her to pay it back and consider it as an error loan.”
@mabosigomolamu said:
“They should have given her community service, 1000 hours of community service.”
@HammondVisagie stated:
“It is ridiculous. The state should have arranged to get some of the money paid back. Now she must be detained on taxpayers' money and she won’t be able to find decent work and contribute to the economy even after serving time! Who wins?”
@SirBoske added:
“I thought Thuli was smart, it's not only about being a recipient, she used money that's not hers and reference on the SMS stated that it comes from NSFAS akere... Ai guys we all know that chowing money that's not yours whether it's in your account or not it's crime.”
Student union wants Sibongile Mani to be allowed to pay back NSAFS money so she won't be jailed, SA reacts
Briefly News also reported that the South African Union of Students has voiced its concerns over Sibongile Mani’s sentence to five years' imprisonment and says that she should be allowed to pay back the money.
Mani spent more than R800 000 of R14 million that was unintentionally deposited into her student account from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS).
The union’s Lubabalo Ndzoyiya recognises that the mother of two was wrong for using the money but believes that the sentence is too harsh, according to eNCA. Ndzoyiya added that a suspended sentence would be more fitting for Mani, since the five-year sentence will not allow her to rectify her mistakes.
Source: Briefly News
