South African businessman Malcolm X has pledged R500,000 towards the R818,000 spent by Sibongile Mani, which resulted in her five-year prison sentence.
SOUTH African businessman Malcolm X has pledged R500,000 towards the R818,000 spent by Sibongile Mani, which resulted in her five-year prison sentence.
Malcolm X made the pledge on his Instagram account after the East London Regional Court on Wednesday sentenced Mani to five years behind bars for stealing R818,000 of National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) funds in 2017.
Mani was erroneously credited with R14 million in her NSFAS student account.
The court dismissed Mani’s plea for a suspended sentence.
Earlier this year, Mani was found guilty of theft relating to R14m that had been paid into her account by Intellimali, a service provider for NSFAS.
business_malcom_x said: “I, Malcolm X aka Business, hereby pledge R500,000 towards the R818,000 that the Walter Sisulu University (WSU) student, Sbongile Mani, ’accidentally’ used from the R14m that was ’accidentally’ transferred to her bank account, provided the payment of this money will lead to her immediate release from prison.
“I urge responsible entrepreneurs to donate the other R318,000 to round up the R818,000 that she ’accidentally’ used for herself and other students. #StudentChallenge.”
According to reports, Mani spent the money on alcohol, cigarettes, blankets, clothes for men, handbags, furniture, beauty products and groceries at a supermarket, over a period of two months.
In her judgment, Magistrate Twanet Olivier ruled that Mani knew what she was doing was wrong, but that she had proceeded to spend the money anyway, in a well-planned manner all over the country.
Malcolm’s pledge has left Twitter divided:
