R260 million SASSA fraud case: Bail hearing postponed

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LENASIA - The Lenasia Magistrates’ Court has postponed the bail application for five South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) employees to 18 March 2025. 

The accused Siphesihle Dlamini (30), Phiwe Mkhuzangwe (37), Paul Bowes (49), Keanogetswe Ledwaba (49), and Phumelele Myeza (37) were arrested on 14 March 2025 on charges of fraud and theft.
 
These arrests follow an earlier case, involving four others accused Shumani Khwerana, Nkhensani Maluleke, Tshilidzi Ramaphosa, and Abenezer Tilahyn, who were arrested on 06 February 2025. Police were called to a Soweto store, where Khwerana and Maluleke, were allegedly caught withdrawing large sums of money using SASSA cards. Further investigations led to the arrest of the additional suspects.
 
Four of the accused were apprehended at SASSA’s Johannesburg offices, while the fifth voluntarily surrendered to the police. 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.
 

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