Government official to use her pension payout to pay back the money she stole

Zukiswa Wana who is a 52-year-old government official, has been ordered to pay back the money she fraudulently obtained through money laundering using her pension fund.

Wana was found guilty of these crimes by the East London Regional Court, nearly 14 years after she committed them.

Wana’s arrest came about as a result of an investigation by the Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigation, also known as the Hawks.

In October 2021, the provincial education department in Zwelitsha received an internal memo that exposed improper payments made to two service providers for school hostel catering services.

It was discovered that these payments were made without any actual services being rendered, and signatures were forged to authorize the transactions.

Further investigation into the matter revealed that the fraudulent activities originated from the Cluster C Districts Development and Support office, where Wana worked as a personal assistant.

The total amount of irregularly authorized school hostel catering expenditure exceeded R800,000.

The court’s ruling that Wana must pay back the money using her pension fund is a significant step towards justice and serves as a deterrent to others who may consider engaging in similar criminal activities.

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