“SASSA official” robs five grannies

By Kaizer Nengovhela and Maanda Bele

After a ruthless conwoman, pretending to be a SASSA official, had robbed five grannies of all their pension money, the community reached out to the victims. The local traditional leader, along with a local businessman, came to the pensioners’ rescue and bought them groceries and gave them the money that was stolen.

The incident took place last Wednesday (3^rd) at Mukula outside Thohoyandou. According to the police report, a woman visited the village and introduced herself as a worker from the SA Social Security Agency (SASSA). She apparently told five lady pensioners that she needed to register them to receive food parcels, after which she asked for their bank cards and ID documents. She also asked them to call other senior citizens, so that they too could be registered, before she disappeared.

The grannies only realised that they had been conned the next day, when they went to the bank to withdraw money. “I went to collect my pension money at the collection point as I do every month on the 4^th,” explained one of the victims, Ms Mashadu Matamela. She was hoping to withdraw the R1 860 grant she normally received, but she was in for a terrible surprise.

“A female teller told me to wait outside while they contacted the head office. About 30 minutes later, she referred me to her senior, who said my balance was R20,” said Ms Matamela. “I was confused because I had not made any withdrawal,” she said. She then started suspecting that the lady who had promised them food parcels had taken their money. When she contacted the other grannies present the previous day, they all had similar experiences.

The spokesperson for SASSA in Limpopo, Mr Norman Kutama, warned senior citizens to be aware of con artists pretending to be SASSA officials. He said that all SASSA officials wore name tags all the time. He warned the community to report any suspicious incidents to the police.

The chairperson of the SA National Civic Organisation’s branch in Mukula, Mr Hulisani Mabasa, warned community members to be vigilant and watch out for fraudsters pretending to be government officials.

The police’s spokesperson, Brig Motlafela Mojapelo, said that the police had appealed to members of the public to come forward with information that might lead to the arrest of the suspect. He warned the elderly not to allow any strangers to come into their houses or to give them their information.

News of the granny’s plight spread fast, and assistance came from all sectors of the community. On Tuesday, the local traditional leader, Vhamusanda Mpfuneni Takalani Tshivhase, and his traditional council handed over food parcels to the five women. Apart from the groceries, the pensioners also received electricity vouchers.

A local businessman, Mr Takalani Ranwedzi of the Day Night Driving School, also came on board and donated groceries to the women. He went beyond that and gave the women the full amount of the money that was stolen from each of them.

The 78-year-old Ms Mashudu Matamela of Halukhwa was elated when she heard this good news. She said that her family had fallen on hard times and she did not know where to cry for help after losing the R1 860. “I have three grandchildren and my son to look after, and we solely depend on this grant. Without this money, we have nothing as a family,” she said. She thanked the sponsors for their generosity, which she believes has restored their dignity.

Mr Victor Takalani, spokesperson for the Takalani Royal Council, said that they had been shocked to learn what had happened to the grannies. “We sat down and decided to do something as a temporary intervention,” he said. Takalani said that they realised that the families were totally dependent on the grants and were unable to survive until the next pay run. “We also do not want learners to lose out on their studies, and this is the reason we also gave them electricity vouchers,” he said.

Businessman Takalani Ranwedzi, who is also a pastor at the Crown of Love Ministries in Gauteng, gave each of the victims R2 000 as well as groceries. He said that he had been touched when he had heard of the ordeal the grannies had gone through. “We do not have lots of money, but as a business we felt we could not pretend as if nothing had happened. We are donating the little we have to wipe away their tears and keep their lives going until they get their next grant,” he said.

News - Date: 11 March 2021

Kaizer Nengovhela

Kaizer Nengovhela started writing stories for Limpopo Mirror in 2000. Prior to that he had a five year stint at Phala-Phala FM as sports presenter. In 2005 Kaizer received an award from the province's premier as Best Sports Presenter. The same year he was also nominated as Best Sports Reporter by the Makhado Municipality. Kaizer was awarded the Mathatha Tsedu award in 2014.

Email: [email protected]