The Hawks arrested a 30-year-old woman on November 18 after Lindiwe Dlamini was allegedly scammed out of R488 000, leaving Dlamini distraught and desperate for the return of her money.
Dlamini said she was at Eastgate Shopping Centre on November 8, when a woman came up to her wanting to pray for her.
“She said my spirit spoke to her and that something was wrong with me. She said the ancestors told her I have many problems in my life such as work and within in my marriage,” said Dlamini, who believed the woman as she was experiencing marital problems.
“She grabbed my hands and began to pray for me. We then exchanged numbers,” she said.
She later received a call from the woman, who summoned her to a Kloof Road property in Bedfordview.
“She said she discovered something else while praying for me. At the house, we prayed again and she told me to get money connecting my age and that of my husband. It came to R390,” said Dlamini, who was instructed to return to the Bedfordview house the following day.
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“She said I must write down all my problems and wishes and bring the list and a banana-flavored mielie meal drink with.
“When I got into the house the next day it seemed dusty and unclean. There was muti around the home, but it was never used. She asked a man in the house to get a bucket of water for me to wash my hands. She said I had a snake inside me and that I had to pray to the ancestors to destroy the snake,” said Dlamini, who was then told she needed to pay R3 500 to protect herself. She paid the money.
“I left and she called me again and said I am going to need camel’s milk to protect my children from the snake. I told her I didn’t have camel’s milk. She came to my house with camel’s milk and told me to bathe in it,” said Dlamini.
She received yet another call on November 10 when the woman said more money needed to be paid to ensure her protection from the snake.
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“She told me to borrow money and that she would bless the cash. I said I will not get approval for the loans, but she insisted I need to get whatever the banks would approve. I feel she knew I would be approved,” said Dlamini.
After obtaining bank statements for three months and a letter of employment, Dlamini managed to get loans at various financial institutions totalling R488 000.
She handed the money over to the woman on November 14 in Lambton.
“She said she would call me after she had blessed the money. She later called me to collect the money from the Kloof Road property, where, on my arrival, I heard a voice which the woman identified as ancestors telling her I had to pay another R170 000,” said Dlamini.
“She said the snake wanted more money and that I would get a heart attack if I do not get the money. I told her I cannot get more money,” said Dlamini.
The woman did not want Dlamini to request money from her husband.
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“She kept pushing for names of people who could help me get the money. I said I will try to get more and I left. I drove off and later stopped my car and started crying. I later told a friend, although I hesitated to tell him. He said I had been scammed and that people have been doing the same thing in Sandton and Midrand,” said Dlamini.
She went to the Hawks in Germiston on November 15.
They told me to call the woman on November 18 and tell her I had the R170 000. I met her at a garage, where the police arrested her,” said Dlamini.
Hawks spokesperson Capt Lloyd Ramovhathe said the woman was charged with fraud and theft under false pretenses.
He said the suspect was renting the Kloof Road property where she conducted her business from.
“Officers found a non-venomous snake at the property,” said Ramovhathe.
The suspect appeared in Germiston Magistrate’s Court on November 20 and was released pending further investigation.
