Durban - Deputy President David Mabuza has welcomed the sentence meted out to a woman who falsely implicated him in the planning of a murder.
The Nelspruit Regional Court on Monday sentenced 32-year-old Nomfundo Petronella Sambo to seven years in prison for a litany of charges, including falsely accusing Mabuza of conspiracy to commit murder, fraud and pretending to be Mabuza's niece by using the pseudonym of Thandeka Mabuza.
Matshepo Seedat, Mabuza’s spokesperson, said that the Deputy President had welcomed the news of Sambo’s sentencing.
“The Deputy President is of course pleased that this matter has come to finality as it was used to further taint his good name,” Seedat said.
Sambo had accused the Deputy President, in an affidavit, of conspiring to murder an ecotourism business person in November 2018.
Hawks spokesperson Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi welcomed Sambo’s arrest and said that she would now serve an effective seven years imprisonment after she had pleaded guilty in August on all charges that had been brought against her, including the fraud and opening of a false case.
“These charges included concealing her real identity and using the pseudonym of “Thandeka Mabuza” and masquerading as the Deputy President’s niece, for which she was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment without an option of a fine."
Mulaudzi said that the court had also found Sambo guilty for opening a false kidnapping, theft and robbery case at Low's Creek SAPS, Mpumalanga, where she claimed that she lost a work laptop and R4 000 in cash.
“For this she was sentenced to seven years imprisonment without an option of a fine. A further six years imprisonment was imposed on her for a fraudulent purchase of furniture valued at R28 000 at Russells, Hazeview.
Sambo had in an affidavit claimed that Mabuza was, on 5 November 2018, conspiring to murder an ecotourism business person.
“The incident is purported to have happened in the police precinct of Sandton, which resulted in the opening of a criminal docket at Sandton Police Station,” Mulaudzi said.
He further stated that the Hawks investigation later found that the Deputy President was not in the country at the time of the offence and it had become clear that the statement may have been a possible fabrication, including her relationship with the Deputy President.
“Sambo was arrested in March 2019 and later released on R3000 bail, however her bail was withdrawn when she did not attend the subsequent court appearances and she remained in police custody until her sentencing,” said Mulaudzi.
Political Bureau