Scammed series: Ugandan boyfriend and ‘prophetess' sentenced for defrauding Limpopo woman of R650,000
The Specialised Commercial Crime Court in Polokwane has convicted and sentenced Serage Martin Lubenga, and Rhoda Mirembe after a Limpopo woman lost R650,000 in a dating scam.
Image: Hawks
The Specialised Commercial Crime Court in Polokwane has sentenced two foreign nationals, Serage Martin Lubenga, 28, and Rhoda Mirembe, 33, to 20 years imprisonment each after they were convicted for fraud.
IOL has extensively covered the duo's arrest in 2023, after they allegedly scammed a 39-year-old Limpopo woman. The scammed woman's identity is withheld to protect her from secondary victimisation.
The South African woman lost R650,000 after meeting Lubenga, and getting into a romantic relationship with him.
In the latest update, Limpopo provincial spokesperson for the Hawks, Warrant Officer Lethunya Mmuroa said the two have been convicted for offences relating to the dating scam. Get your news on the go, click here to join the IOL News WhatsApp channel.
"In September 2023, the accused acted in a common purpose and defrauded a 39-year-old woman of an amount of R650,000," said Mmuroa.
"The victim met an African man who introduced himself as Martin. The two thereafter became friends. Going forward, the victim started to open up to Martin and shared some personal challenges amongst others and financial problems."
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Martin informed the Limpopo woman that he knows a prophet who can assist her with her financial challenges. Subsequently, Martin then introduced the 39-year-old to a "prophet" referred to as Alice at the time. After the arrest of the two foreign nationals, it turned out that Alice's real name is Rhoda Mirembe.
After being introduced to Mirembe, the Limpopo woman was introduced to regular prayer sessions.
"One day, the prophet came to the victim's place driving BMW. She offloaded a bag full of false notes purported to be money to the value of R4 million," said Mmuroa.
Two vehicles carried on a flatbed The Hawks in Limpopo seized vehicles including a BMW X6 and a Mercedes-Benz coupé after a Limpopo woman defrauded of R650,000 she borrowed from a bank.
Image: Hawks
Mirembe told the Limpopo woman that in order for her to get the R4 million, she should raise 10 percent.
Convinced, the Limpopo woman desperately went all out and raised a total of R650,000, which she handed over the scammers.
"At some point, the victim was also asked to bring her personal particulars consisting of bank statement, identity document (ID) copy, salary advise to pray for them in order for her to get a promotion at work which would boost her finances, while awaiting for the lump sum of R4 million," said Mmuroa.
"The accused kept on milking money from the victim until she suspected criminal activities. She then reported the matter to the Hawks Serious Commercial Crime Investigation in Polokwane."
The case docket of fraud was opened and the Hawks Serious Commercial Crime Investigation was entrusted with the investigations.
"The Hawks investigation team worked around the clock, and the accused were arrested at Potchefstroom in North West province. The Hawks Serious Commercial Crime Investigation established that personal particulars of the victim were falsified and numerous applications were made to rent high class accommodation in the suburbs of Polokwane," said Mmuroa.
Intensive investigations of Hawks Serious Commercial Crime Investigation led to the confiscation of four luxurious vehicles as proceed of crime. The confiscated vehicles include Range Rover, two Mercedes Benz and a BMW X6.
On 8 May 2024, Lubenga and Mirembe pleaded guilty, and were subsequently found guilty on two counts of fraud and one count of corruption.
Serage Martin Lubenga and Rhoda Mirembe have been convicted and sentenced for scamming a Limpopo woman of R650,000.
Image: Hawks
On Wednesday last week, the matter proceeded with the court hearing both mitigating and aggravating circumstances around the crime from the defence and the prosecution teams.
On the first count of fraud, Lubenga and Mirembe were sentencing to 10 years each, and on the second count of fraud as well, they were each sentenced to five years imprisonment.
The court also sentenced Lubenga and Mirembe to an additional five for corruption.
The court rules that the sentence on count one shall run concurrently with sentence on count two. Lubenga and Mirembe will each serve an effective 15 years of direct imprisonment.
The court also ruled that both Lubenga and Mirembe are declared unfit to possess firearms.
Meanwhile, provincial head of the Hawks in Limpopo, Major General Gopz Govender has saluted the investigating team of the Hawks and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) "for the excellent work done, for ensuring that the accused get lengthy sentences for their offenses".
jonisayi.maromo@iol.co.za
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