Mbabane – The High Court of Eswatini has granted E15,000 bail to a 30-year-old Mozambican electrician facing four counts of theft by false pretences involving a fake platinum scam.
High Court Judge Mavuso issued the order following an urgent application by the accused, Edno Vilancula, who is currently held at the Zakhele Remand Centre. The court ordered the applicant to pay E3,000 in cash to the Treasury and provide sureties for the remaining E12,000.
Vilancula was arrested by the Royal Eswatini Police Service in Manzini for allegedly defrauding four individuals of a combined E99,000 between January and October 2025. The prosecution states that the accused misrepresented himself to the complainants by promising to supply them with platinum in exchange for cash payments.
According to the charge sheet, the largest single transaction occurred on October 6, 2025, at the OK President Centre in Manzini, where Vilancula allegedly took E50,000 from Xolani Masango after promising to deliver two kilograms of platinum. On the same day, he allegedly took E10,000 from Emmanuel Sigudla at the Manzini Bus Rank under the same pretext.
The other two counts involve an E13,000 theft from Cebile Mkhatjwa at Trelawney Park on September 23, 2025, which included a Redmi cellphone valued at E3,000, and a final E26,000 transaction from Mlungisi Mahlalela in January 2025.
In his certificate of urgency filed through Motsamai Attorneys, the applicant stated that his continuous incarceration would cause severe financial distress to his unemployed wife and 10-year-old child.
Vilancula, an independent electrician residing in Fairview, argued that he needed to complete unfinished electrical projects to prevent losing his clients. He further cited health concerns, stating that he suffers from anxiety-induced seizures which are aggravated by the overcrowded conditions at the remand centre.
Discussion about this post