When mature South African student at Walter Sisulu University, Sibongile Mani got her monthly student grant June 2017 ....
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| Sibongile Mani |
.... she expected it to be the usual amount of R1,400 rand .... but she found that in fact she had received R14m which is ($1m - £700,000).
Now most people would realise that it was either a print error, or a computer error, but Ms Mani checked her account and found the money was in her account. So what to do? Query it with the bank or grant department of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS)? Or just trust to luck and spend spend spend?
Well I think we all know where this going .... Yes, she immediately embarked on a spending spree within two hours of receiving it. She had a 73 days head start before her account was blocked, and she spent nearly $70,000 in 48 different places across the country, in those 73 happy and carefree days.
Actually considering the amount spent, it was a pretty unimaginative purchase list: It went on hair weaves, mobile phones, alcohol, bedding, gift cards and luxury goods ... but where was the house, car etc?
When she was tried East London Regional Magistrate Twanette Olivier said that it was "remarkable" that Ms Mani had managed to spend so much across the country each day.
Her trial defence was that she was driven by poverty, but the magistrate noted that the spending was inspired by "greed not need"
and sentenced her to five years in prison, but the 31-year-old will be
eligible for parole after serving one third of her sentence. Ms Mani's
lawyer said her client would appeal
Sympathies in the country have been divided, with many seeing what she did as justifiable, particularly in a country with one of the most unequal societies in the world, and where a lot more is lost through corruption such as the case of ex-President Zuma. Others thought that five years was too long as she was a first time offender, and had done what most of them would also have done if it had happened to them.
The money transfer company IntelliMali, paid back the money she had spent to the National Student Financial Aid Scheme, so no government funds were lost, and IntelliMali have no chance of getting all the money back, even if they sold the luxury goods seized.
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