Portia Mathenjwa, a former employee of the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA), has been sentenced to three years in prison on 108 counts of fraud for her role in a disability grant scam that lasted for nearly a decade. The Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court convicted Mathenjwa on 26 July for approving a fraudulent disability grant for her supposed partner between 2009 and 2018.
The scam was uncovered in June 2020, and Mathenjwa was arrested in March 2023. A case was registered at the Mamelodi police station, and the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime unit took over the investigation. At the time of the crime, Mathenjwa worked at SASSA.
While the court imposed a three-year sentence, it was fully suspended for five years, contingent on Mathenjwa not committing any further fraud or theft during that period.
This case sheds light on the ongoing issue of grant fraud in South Africa, with other individuals also implicated in defrauding SASSA. Notably, Sepheka Stephen Masooa was arrested in June 2023 for allegedly embezzling R2.2 million from SASSA, manipulating the Webripost system to create fake payments for ghost beneficiaries.
