Mbabane – A 23 year old man appeared before the Mbabane Magistrates Court facing two counts of theft by false pretences after he allegedly defrauded two residents by posing as a cellphone screen guard and pouch seller.
These offences were committed on 28 November 2025 in Mbabane town, where the accused reportedly deceived people to obtain two smartphones from them, unsuspecting him they gave him their cellphones .
The first count is the theft of an iPhone 11. He is accused of unlawfully and intentionally misrepresenting himself to Wakhile Gamedze, claiming to be a cellphone screen guard and pouch seller. He allegedly requested an iPhone 11, valued at E4,500, for fitting accessories.
Instead of returning the phone, he disappeared with it. However, police investigators apprehended him and recovered the phone.
On the second count, he is accused of that on the same day, he used the same scheme to deceive Snalithemba Khumalo into handing over a Huawei P40, valued at E2,000 in which the accused also fled with this device. The Huawei P40 is still missing, and police are still working to trace it.
During the court appearance, the Crown explained that the accused used deliberate deception to obtain both phones, demonstrating clear intent to steal.
As the second phone has not been recovered, the court ordered the accused to pay E2,000 in restitution to compensate for the missing Huawei P40 before the end of business today. The accused told the court that they were two when committing the offence and the Huawei fled with the other one, but the court disputed that they were collaborating thus he has to pay the said amount.
During mitigation the accused apologized in court for committing the offence of stealing, he was just hustling and wanted to sell the cellphone and use the money to open a spaza shop.
The sentencing has been postponed, giving the accused time to gather the money he ordered by the court to pay. He is given until 11 December 2025.
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