Mbabane– Four sisters accused of defrauding a woman of E75,000 in a disputed land sale have been granted bail by the High Court after spending about a week in custody.
High Court Judge Magagula on Wednesday ordered that the accused be released on bail of E15,000 each after an urgent application brought before the court.
The accused are Gcinaphi Dlamini (50), Nelisiwe Dlamini (48), Lungile Dlamini (46) and Ntombifuthi Dlamini (37), all of Mfabantfu. They are facing one count of theft by false pretences.
As part of the bail conditions, each accused is required to deposit E5,000 in cash with the Treasury and provide sureties worth E10,000 to guarantee future court attendance.
The court also ordered them to surrender their passports or any other international travel documents to the investigating officer at Matsapha Police Station. They are prohibited from applying for new travel documents and must remain within Eswatini pending the finalisation of the case.
In addition, the sisters must report in person to Matsapha Police Station every Friday between 8am and 4pm, beginning on the first Friday after their release. They were further ordered not to communicate with, contact or interfere with any prosecution witnesses.
The allegations stem from a land transaction that took place on June 5, 2021, at Mfabantfu in the Manzini District.
According to the charge sheet, the State alleges that the four sisters, acting in concert, falsely represented to complainant Ntombikayise Bhembe that they were selling her a piece of land. The prosecution alleges that the representation induced Bhembe to pay them E75,000 in cash, despite the accused allegedly knowing they could not fulfil the agreement.
The sisters were arrested on June 4, 2026, at Matsapha Police Station and made their first appearance in the Manzini Magistrate’s Court on June 25, where they were remanded into custody at Mawelawela Women’s Correctional Institution.
In papers filed before the High Court, the sisters maintained their innocence and indicated that they would plead not guilty to the charge.
In her founding affidavit, first applicant Gcinaphi Dlamini disputed the State’s version of events, insisting that the land sale was genuine and that it was the complainant who failed to honour the agreement.
“The sale of the piece of land to the complainant was completed and it is the complainant who is now refusing to occupy the land and pay the outstanding amount,” she stated.
Gcinaphi further claimed that the sisters were arrested without proper investigations having been conducted, describing the arrests as unexpected.
The urgent bail application, filed by T. Motsamai Attorneys and certified urgent by Mhlonishwa President Shongwe, argued that the continued detention of the applicants unjustifiably deprived them of their liberty.
The application also stated that the four women are mothers of minor school-going children who had been left without proper care following their incarceration. Gcinaphi further informed the court that she suffers from an ongoing medical condition requiring regular check-ups.
The Director of Public Prosecutions, representing the Crown, consented to the bail terms that were ultimately granted by the High Court.
The matter will return to the lower court for trial, where the sisters are expected to enter pleas of not guilty.
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