An alleged 27-year-old dating scammer and his 32-year-old accomplice were remanded in custody when they appeared before the Polokwane Magistrate's Court, following their arrest last week.
Yiga Siraje Lubega and Rhoda Betsey Mirembe are accused of working together to scam an unsuspecting 39-year-old Limpopo woman. The woman lost more than R600,000 after meeting and getting into a romantic relationship with Lubega.
IOL understands that the alleged scammers, Lubega and Mirembe, claim to be from Uganda, in East Africa, but law enforcement agencies in South Africa are also investigating these allegations.
On Monday, the Polokwane Magistrate’s Court remanded Lubega and Mirembe in custody until December 28, for a formal bail application.
The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (also known as the Hawks) is calling for other women who may have fallen victim to fraudulent scams to come forward and report cases.
“We appeal to those who might have been scammed to report the matter to the Hawks so that we can arrest all the scammers in the province,” Hawks provincial spokesperson in Limpopo, Lieutenant Colonel Matimba Maluleke, told IOL.
Last week, the two alleged scammers were remanded in custody when they appeared in court.
The Hawks said during the month of September, the Limpopo woman, whose name is withheld, “randomly met” Lubega, in Polokwane.
Lubega was driving a white Mercedes-Benz, and the Hawks said that after that September encounter, the 27-year-old man and the 39-year-old woman started dating.
“While enjoying the new love, the victim (the Limpopo woman) told the suspect (Lubega) about her personal problems, and the suspect promised to hook her up with the spiritual healer, a ‘prophetess’, who was going to cast away all her problems,” Maluleke said at the time.
The 39-year-old woman alleges that she was introduced to the so-called prophetess, who told her she was going to assist in getting rid of the problems.
“According to the victim, she engaged in prayers with the suspect (Lubega) and the ‘prophetess’ for about a week,” said Maluleke.
“In one of the prayer sessions, the prophetess (Mirembe) came driving a BMW X6, carrying R4 million hard cash in a bag. The victim was told the money was hers, from her ancestors, but she had to pay 10 percent of the total amount in order to get it.”
As the 39-year-old Limpopo woman did not have money, she went to the bank and applied for a loan of R650,000, and she gave it to the “prophetess”.
After a while, the woman tried to contact Lubega, and Mirembe, but they were no longer reachable.
“While the victim was still confused, she allegedly received a call from a property rental agent in Polokwane, enquiring about the luxury house she rented at a place called Woodhill Estate in Polokwane,” said Maluleke.
The 39-year-old woman insists she has never rented such a place. She then discovered that her particulars were fraudulently used in the transaction, and she reported the matter to the Hawks.
“On November 27, members of the Hawks visited the address at Woodhill Estate and found two vehicles, the white Mercedes-Benz and the BMW X6, parked in the garage that was wide open,” said Maluleke.
“Unfortunately, nobody was found inside the house, but the vehicles were seized as they were previously used by the suspect and the accomplice when they met with the victim.”
On December 12, Maluleke said information was received that another Mercedes-Benz vehicle that was used by Lubega had been spotted in Potchefstroom, North West.
“Through proper coordination, the vehicle was followed, and the suspect, together with his accomplice, were arrested,” the Hawks said.
Last month, the Hawks in Limpopo issued a warning to South African women to be vigilant amid a “rapid increase of dating scam incidents” recorded across the province.
The warning came after a 60-year-old Polokwane-based woman was scammed out of more than R800,000 of her pension money by a boyfriend, who then vanished into thin air.
IOL