- A woman who pretended to be Deputy President David Mabuza's niece has been sent to jail for seven years.
- Nomfundo Petronella Sambo also opened a false kidnapping and theft case, claiming her laptop and cash were stolen.
- Sambo later made allegations of conspiracy to commit murder against Mabuza, which turned out to be false.
A woman who pretended to be Deputy President David Mabuza's niece, opened a false kidnapping case and made false murder conspiracy allegations against Mabuza was sentenced to seven years in jail in the Nelspruit Regional Court on Tuesday.
Nomfundo Petronella Sambo, 32, will serve an effective seven years after she pleaded guilty on all charges on 5 August.
These charges included concealing her real identity and using a pseudonym, "Thandeka Mabuza", thereby masquerading as Mabuza's niece, for which she was sentenced to five years' imprisonment without the option of a fine, said Hawks spokesperson Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi.
The court also found her guilty of opening a false case of kidnapping, theft and robbery at the Low's Creek police station after she claimed she had lost a work laptop and R4 000 in cash. For this, she was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment without the option of a fine. A further six years' imprisonment was imposed on her for the fraudulent purchase of furniture valued at R28 000 at Russells, Hazyview.
Mulaudzi said:
"The Hawks investigation later found that the
deputy president was not in the country at the time of the alleged offence. It
became clear that the statement may not have been truthful, but a possible
fabrication, including her relationship with the deputy president."
Sambo was arrested in March 2019 and later released on R3 000 bail. Her bail was withdrawn when she did not attend subsequent court appearances and she had remained in police custody until her sentencing on Tuesday.
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