Four men are in custody facing charges of obtaining by false pretences after they allegedly managed to get P250 000 from one Keipone Gaongalelwe by falsely representing to her that they were performing prophecies to increase the cash to a substantial amount, a representation that the accused persons knew to be false at the time.
On January 26, 2013 at Kanye, Lame Simako, Nigen Mpagaswa, Dimpho Lebakeng and Ditshupo Molelekwa and yet another suspect unlawfully obtained P250 000 from Gaongalelwe, wife of Justice Stephen Gaongalelwe, allegedly promising to increase the cash.
The four men are expected to appear before Kanye Magistrate Court sometime this week to answer to the charge.
The four allegedly approached Gaongalelwe and made the claims of being able to multiply the cash.
After discussing how the lady could be assisted, the lady told them that she had already withdrawn about P250 000 from her bank account.
It is alleged that both parties then went to a secluded place around Kanye where she was told that she should put her money inside a lockable portable cash box.
The accused are alleged to then have locked the cash box and gave Gaongalelwe the keys while they remained with the locked cash box containing the money.
The four are alleged to then have disappeared and Gaongalelwe reported the matter to the police, resulting in the arrest of the four men at various places a few days later.
Before being apprehended, the suspects, however, had managed to buy motor vehicles which the police impounded as part of the evidence.
“About four men, aged between 28 and 40, are in custody for allegedly swindling (cash from) a 60-year-old woman of Kanye Village recently,” said Police spokesperson, Senior Superintendent Dipheko Motube.
He said that although investigations are still on-going, the suspects apparently spotted the victim when she was from one of the commercial banks in Kanye.
“The woman was carrying about P250 000 that she had withdrawn from the bank when the four suspects approached her and told her that they could increase her funds,” he said.
Motube said police had not yet recovered a “thebe” from the suspects.
When contacted for comment, Gaongalelwe said, “I have nothing to say about what happened.”
The accused persons are scheduled to appear before the Magistrate Court on the 21st of next month.
