By Bahle Gama
Fraud suspect and Matsapha businessman Siyabonga David Dlamini has been granted bail at E100 000 by the High Court.
Of this amount, Dlamini is expected to pay E20 000 cash and E80 000 as surety.
This followed Dlamini’s bail application through his attorney Sabelo ‘Chicken’ Dlamini after he was arrested on June 11, 2024 for allegedly defrauding the Ministry of Labour and Social Security over E7.7 million.
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Dlamini is facing four counts of fraud, and has made his maiden court appearance at the Mbabane Magistrate’s Court before Magistrate Chazile Thwala.
According to his charge sheet, he allegedly started defrauding the Ministry of Labour and Social Security money for the institution dating back to December 2023.
He allegedly misrepresented to the ministry that the University of Eswatini (UNESWA) Student Finance Department had changed its First National Bank (FNB) account and induced the ministry to pay E226 640.
He is said to have known very well that the account number he presented did not belong to the UNESWA Student Finance Department.
In January 2024, he reportedly employed the same modus operandi in that he allegedly misrepresented to the ministry and had E436 800 paid into the bank account.
In March 2024, he again induced the ministry a sum of E7 million. In the same month, he received E68 630 from the ministry under the same misrepresentation.
When he made his court appearance, the Crown applied to detain certain exhibits belonging to Dlamini in terms of Section 52 (3) of the Criminal Procedure and Evidence Act of 1938.
These were a black Central Processing Unit (CPU), a black Acer laptop, two Samsung cell phones and four USB sticks, and Dlamini did not object to the application.
In his bail application, Dlamini denied committing any of the alleged offences and told the High Court that the money was deposited in his bank account without any proof of payment after he had applied for a loan of E250 000 at FNB.
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He said when E7 million was deposited in his bank account, he approached the bank to enquire, and he was told that the money was reversed to the Central Bank of Eswatini.
He said that another amount of E436 800 was deposited without proof of payment, and since the E7 million had been reversed to the Central Bank,
“my account still had the total amount of E663 440 which I ended up utilising, because I had notified the bank about same amount, and no response was forthcoming from the bank.”
Dlamini reiterated that he would plead not guilty because he has a good defence to the charges laid against him.
His bail application was opposed by the Crown and was set to be argued on Thursday, June 27.
On Wednesday, June 26, the court granted him bail to the amount.
In the event he pays the E20 000 cash and provides E80 000 surety, Dlamini is expected to report to the Mbabane Police Station every Friday of the month, until the matter is finalised.
