A Ugandan national has appeared in the Nelspruit Magistrate’s Court in Mpumalanga after he allegedly swindled a former teacher out of her pension payout.
Christopher Masereka, 50, also known as Moses Mawaza, is accused of scamming a 46-year-old former teacher whom he became lovers with, out of the pension funds she received after years of service.
Mpumalanga police spokesperson, Brigadier Selvy Mohlala said the pair allegedly entered into a mutual relationship in March.
Mohlala said information at hand suggests that Masereka told his lover two months after they became involved he was in logistics.
“He further advised her to resign from work so that after cashing out her pension money she could pump it into the business which they will run as partners in return,” Mohlala said.
“It sounded interesting and promising that the business would be booming, as a result the former teacher fell into a trap and resigned in May 2023,” he said.
“When her pension savings were paid into her account in August 2023, the love birds decided to withdraw the money (total figure withheld for investigation purposes) over three transactions in one day.”
All withdrawals were given to Masereka by the former teacher.
After he received the payouts, Masereka is alleged to have played hard to get and he thereafter started ignoring his lover’s calls, relocated to another accommodation, and lastly changed his contact numbers to avoid interaction.
“It became clear to the former teacher that she had been scammed, hence she registered a case of theft under false pretence with Nelspruit police. An investigation was conducted which led to the arrest of the suspect on Sunday, October 8, 2023,” Mohlala said.
“The suspect was charged with theft under false pretence and contravention of the Immigration Act. The Department of Home Affairs will be roped into the investigation to ascertain the legality of the alleged swindler in South Africa.”
The possibility of more charges being added to the charge sheet is not being ruled out, as similar incidents have also been reported in the past within the province.
Masereka was remanded in custody and the matter against him has been postponed until Friday, October 20, for a formal bail application.
Police have urged community members who may have fallen victim in a similar way to come forward and assist police with its investigation.