Two 'traditional healers' get 10 years in prison for convincing man to quit job, hand over pension

08 July 2024 - 18:14
By TimesLIVE
Two foreign nationals were arrested for posing as traditional healers and convincing a man to give them R3m in pension money. File photo.
Image: Thulani Mbele Two foreign nationals were arrested for posing as traditional healers and convincing a man to give them R3m in pension money. File photo.

Two bogus Eastern Cape traditional healers were each sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment for convincing a man to resign from his job and give them millions from his pension funds.

Kiseka Rashid, 46, and Tony Lubenga, 34, were convicted by the East London regional court for fraud and also contravening the Immigration Act as they were both illegally in the country.

On July 1 2019, the victim went to visit the “traditional healers” in the East London CBD where he was taken into a consultation room. The two accused introduced themselves as traditional healers and during the consultation made the victim believe he was talking to his ancestors.

The fraudsters influenced the man to resign from his job so he could get all of his pension money, said Eastern Cape Hawks spokesperson W/O Ndiphiwe Mhlakuvana.

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“After resigning from his job, he was instructed by the accused to withdraw all his pension fund money and to bring it to them as it would multiply,” Mhlakuvana said.

He handed over R3m in cash to the supposed traditional healers.

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