30-07-2025
Ethiopian who tried to defraud Sassa fined R60,000
Ethiopian Etebo Lapso Wangore has been sentenced to a R60,000 fine or eight months' imprisonment after he was convicted of corruption linked to attempts to defraud the social grant system.
The specialised commercial crimes court in Vryburg in the North West imposed the sentence on Wangore, 43, this week, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) said on Wednesday.
Wangore entered South Africa as an asylum seeker and later established himself as a businessman operating several spaza shops in the North West.
'Investigations uncovered that he was part of a syndicate that included South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) employees involved in creating fraudulent Sassa beneficiaries, commonly referred to as ghost beneficiaries, defrauding the social grant system,' NPA spokesperson Sivenathu Gunya said.
On November 15 2022, Wangore approached an agent at a post office and offered her R20,000 to arrange 250 Sassa cards.
He further offered R1,000 per card as payment for each additional card she could supply.
The official reported the matter to the police, leading to an entrapment operation, and Wangore was arrested on February 23 2023. He was later released on bail.
Wangore pleaded guilty.
In aggravation of sentence, state advocate Fhulufhelo Munyai emphasised the severity of the crime, explaining how such offences undermined the integrity of the country's social assistance system and negatively affected the economy.
The court also ordered that his Toyota Hilux bakkie be forfeited to the state as it was used in the commission of the crime.
