Guardian mom admits to pocketing son's R1-million inheritance

While working as an accountant in a municipal division meant to assist the poor‚ a Nelson Mandela Bay woman siphoned off the more than R1-million inheritance of a young man she helped raise.

Mary Madaka‚ 51‚ has admitted stealing the money intended for Daniel Jackson Vanqa‚ the son of close family friends over whom she and her husband‚ Mbuyiselo‚ a DA activist in the region‚ had guardianship.

Mbuyiselo is the brother of renowned Port Elizabeth anti-apartheid activist Topsy Madaka‚ who was killed by security police in 1982.

Vanqa‚ now 26‚ who regarded Madaka and her husband as his parents after his father died 11 years ago‚ says she has robbed him of his future as he struggles to get an education‚ find a job and take care of his baby boy.

Madaka was to be sentenced in the Port Elizabeth Commercial Crimes Court on Thursday following her conviction earlier this year‚ but did not appear because she had undergone surgery. Madaka is a section head for the municipality’s Assistance To The Poor programme.

Vanqa said his life had been turned upside down since he learnt about the theft. “It has taken a toll on my education‚ not only because of the money‚ but also because of the emotional stress [Madaka’s actions] have caused.”

When he turned 21‚ Vanqa started questioning what had happened to the money his father‚ Mxolisi‚ had left him when he died in 2007.

- The Herald