MBABANE – A local man who continued to pocket a pension payout after remarrying has confessed to defrauding the Public Service Pension Fund (PSPF) of E128 482.
Sikelela Eric Simelane appeared before Senior Magistrate Sifiso Vilakati at the Mbabane Magistrates Court where he pleaded guilty to a fraud charge that took place between 2015 and 2019.
Court records showed Simelane illegally collected monthly payments meant for surviving spouses from May 12, 2015, to October 2019 despite remarrying, a detail he deliberately concealed from the pension fund.
Testifying for the PSPF, Sanele Mavimbela told the court that Simelane had been drawing the monthly stipend since 2017. He said the pension regulations clearly stated that payments must stop once a recipient remarries, and Simelane had acknowledged this condition when signing up for the benefits.
The pension fund only discovered the fraud in 2019 during a routine review, though Simelane had already remarried by May 2015. Mavimbela explained that the accused admitted to remarrying but failed to report it as required. The pension payouts, which increased each year, were stopped in October 2019.
An out-of-court arrangement was initially explored by the PSPF where Simelane agreed to repay the money through monthly instalments of E300. However, he defaulted on the payment plan and even submitted two written pleas asking for leniency before the matter landed in court.
During mitigation, Simelane requested to settle the debt by selling dagga from his farm, claiming the harvest would fetch E50 000. He also offered to sell an ox for E15 000. The magistrate dismissed the dagga proposal, citing its illegality and Simelane’s lack of a farming licence.
When asked why he failed to report his remarriage, Simelane claimed he married a young woman who had come to look after a child from his previous marriage, but she later abandoned him.
The Crown has since requested a compensation order be issued alongside Simelane’s sentence. The accused remains in custody pending sentencing scheduled for July 17.
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