Sibongile Mani: A crook who craves the spotlight

Veteran detectives will tell you that for every one thing a criminal does right, they do 50 things that will get them caught. 

It’s probably safe to say few would seek public office while appealing against a prison sentence.

This being one of the weirdest countries in the world, however, Sibongile Mani, who is appealing a five-year sentence for fraud, has been elected treasurer of Walter Sisulu University’s (WSU) alumni convocation.

Having erroneously been paid R14m instead of R1,400 by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), Mani went on a 73-day, R800,000 spending spree which ended only when her credit card was blocked.

Whether WSU saw a fundraising opportunity that could not be missed is uncertain.

Without, apparently, a hint of irony, WSU spokesperson Yonela Tukwayo told News24 that leadership roles at the university were reserved for “qualifying, reputable, clean record, competent and credible candidates with special skills and capabilities that will help take our institution forward”. 

It’s true that the bar for getting away with other people’s money was set high in Krugersdorp in 1977 when one Mr Nightingale* rented an empty shop a few doors down the street from the local Standard Bank, put brown paper up in the windows and proceeded to tunnel under the next-door shops, across an alley and into the vault.

Investigators remarked that the tunnelling work was of extremely high quality, raising the prospect that the robbers were miners, Krugersdorp being a mining town and all.

The tunnellers got away with about R1m (roughly R45m today) in cash, travellers cheques and jewellery. They were never caught. In fact, Mr Nightingale was never heard from again.

*Not his real name