SASSA Fraud Accused Facing Over 1,300 Charges for Involvement in R265 Million Theft, SA Disgusted

• Nine South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) officials have been arrested for fraud and theft in Gauteng this year
• The officials are part of a syndicate responsible for stealing R265 million from the agency using fake SASSA cards
• South Africans were disgusted as the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) confirmed that the suspects face over 1000 charges

Briefly News journalist Byron Pillay has spent a decade reporting on the South African political landscape, crime and social issues

GAUTENG - Over 1,000 charges are expected to be levelled against a group of South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) officials accused of fraud.

Five officials appeared in the Lenasia Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, 17 March 2025 facing 52 charges related to the theft of R265 million from the agency. Three were arrested at the SASSA offices in the Johannesburg CBD on 14 March, while the fourth was arrested in Soweto on the same day. The fifth handed themselves over to police on Monday, 17 March.

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Siphesihle Dlamini (30), Phiwe Mkhuzangwe (37), Paul Bowes (49), Keanogetswe Ledwaba (49), and Phumelele Myeza (37) all faced charges of fraud and theft, but now will face a whole lot more.

State to add over 1,000 charges more

The National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) Phindi Mjonondwane confirmed that more than 1 300 charges would be added to the current charge sheet.

“They face over 1,300 counts of cybercrime, fraud, and theft, linked to an alleged SASSA card fraud syndicate that operated between August 2024 and March 2025,” Mjonondwane said.

As a result of the new charges, their bail application has been postponed to Tuesday, 18 March. Magistrate Maggie Van Der Merwe told The Citizen that she wasn’t sure how the lawyers were going to manage because they originally only prepared for 52 charges. The State confirmed that it intended to oppose bail.

You can watch a short clip of their appearance in court below.

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Nine SASSA officials were arrested in total

The arrest of the five officials comes a month after four others were arrested in Soweto. Shumani Khwerana, Nkhensani Maluleke, Tshilidzi Ramaphosa, and Abenezer Tilahyn, were nabbed on 6 February when police received a tip-off that Khwerana and Maluleke were withdrawing large sums of money using SASSA cards.

The nine suspects are part of a syndicate that used fake SASSA cards to steal money. A total of R265 million was stolen before the arrests. The news of the arrests was welcomed by Parliamentarians who praised the whistleblowers for alerting police to the crime.

Social media users disgusted by the arrests

South Africans reacted angrily to the news, expressing disgust that people could steal with no remorse while the poor suffered.

Wesley Magic Nyalungu said:

“Poor people who deserve to get their SASSA grant were not receiving it because of these people.”

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Tarrie Hen

"It's because of these low-class vultures that we can't get decent increases. May they rot in jail which will probably never happen because criminals in government are above the laws of South Africa. Here criminals roam freely.”

Patrick Rebombo stated:

“This is disgusting.”

Jan R De Jong said:

“Sies, they have got a paying job, but still, they are stealing money from the poor.”

Andile Radebe exclaimed:

“You don’t succeed when you oppress the already poor.”

Four Mpumalanga women convicted for defrauding SASSA

Briefly News previously reported that Nelspruit Serious Commercial Crime Court threw the book at four women who defrauded SASSA.

The accused were sentenced to five years in jail, wholly suspended for five years after being found guilty of fraudulent activities.

The crimes were allegedly committed for 12 years from 2011 until 2023 when the group were caught.

Source: Briefly News