Ex-Post Office manager forfeits pension over SASSA fraud

A former Post Office manager in Mpumalanga lost over R100,000 of her pension after defrauding SASSA beneficiaries without their knowledge.

Lucia Mashego, a wheelchair-bound ex-manager of the Shatale Post Office branch in Bushbuckridge, colluded with teller Thandeka Dibakwane and private individual Precious Nyathi to steal from SASSA beneficiaries without their consent.

FORMER POST OFFICE MANAGER LOSES PENSION OVER DEFRAUDING SASSA BENEFICIARIES

The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (the Hawks) reported that Mashego created duplicate SASSA cards, which Dibakwane passed to Nyathi to illegally withdraw money from various ATMs.

Hawks spokesperson in Mpumalanga, Lieutenant Colonel Magonseni Nkosi, said SASSA beneficiaries lost R250 000 through the unlawful withdrawals.

Nkosi added that when Virginia Phoku, another post office teller, noticed the illegal activity, she exploited the situation by making duplicate cards for herself.

Phoku was found guilty and sentenced to two years’ imprisonment, suspended for five years on condition that she is not convicted of a similar offence in January.

“Mashego pleaded guilty on all 60 fraud charges on 27 May. She was sentenced to eight years imprisonment wholly suspended for five years on condition that she is not convicted of a similar offence. The court further ordered the Asset Forfeiture Unit to recover R146 897,05 from her pension fund,” Nkosi explained.

OTHER ACCUSED YET TO BE SENTENCED 

Meanwhile, the former Post Office manager’s accomplices, Dibakwane and Nyathi, will appear before the Commercial Crime Court on Wednesday, 13 August.

Major General Nico Gerber, Provincial Head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, strongly warned people in positions of authority not to exploit their powers for personal gain at the expense of the most vulnerable.

“We will investigate without fear or favor and ensure justice is served,” Gerber said.