Rose Lekhanya Arrested in Limpopo Over R99K Fraud Allegation
The Gravelotte Magistrate’s Court in Limpopo has released 42-year-old Rose Lekhanya on R10,000 bail following her arrest by the Hawks on fraud charges involving nearly R100,000.
Warrant Officer Lethunya Mmuroa, spokesperson for the Hawks in Limpopo, confirmed that Lekhanya was arrested by the Phalaborwa-based serious commercial crime investigation unit. She is accused of deceiving her former employer, a local mine, by submitting fraudulent hospital documents to obtain a loan.
In 2018, while working in the office of the mine’s human resources executive, Lekhanya allegedly claimed her mother had been hospitalized and that she needed urgent financial assistance. The mine granted her a loan of over R99,000 based on the documents she provided. However, she reportedly failed to repay the loan and resigned soon afterward.
Subsequent investigations revealed that Lekhanya’s mother had never been admitted to the hospital, prompting the employer to open a fraud case. The Hawks completed the investigation and handed the case to the National Prosecuting Authority, which issued a warrant for her arrest.
Lekhanya was tracked and arrested in Honeydew, Gauteng. She appeared in the Gravelotte Magistrate’s Court, and the case was postponed to 15 September for further investigation.
Major General Gopz Govender, provincial head of the Hawks, welcomed the arrest and urged employers to thoroughly verify all external documents submitted by staff.
Meanwhile, in a separate case, the Hawks arrested Jason Khomotjo Rantho, 27, for allegedly using fake documents to finance a Ford Ranger Raptor worth over R1.3 million. He was arrested in Groblersdal and appeared in court after allegedly submitting fraudulent bank statements and a fake payslip during the application process at WesBank.
