Latest news with #SouthGautengHighCourt
IOL News
22-05-2025
- IOL News
Phumelele Myeza's bail application rejected by amid R4 million Sassa fraud allegations
The South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg has rejected the urgent bail application of Phumelele Myeza, the ninth accused in a sprawling South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) fraud case. The South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg has rejected the urgent bail application of Phumelele Myeza, the ninth accused in a sprawling South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) fraud case. The judgment comes after the defence approached the high court for the accused to be released on bail, arguing that the postponement period set by the lower court was excessively long and therefore irregular. Myeza and her 10 co-accused — who include eight Sassa officials — have a pending and uncompleted bail application before the Lenasia Magistrate's Court. They face more than 1,000 charges ranging from cybercrime to fraud to identity theft. 'The State alleged that the accused orchestrated a complex scheme involving the creation of fake Sassa profiles, into which an estimated R4 million was deposited. These fraudulent profiles were subsequently used to withdraw significant amounts of money from various Sassa pay points,' said Phindi Mjonondwane, spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
IOL News
08-05-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Court allows YWBN Mutual Bank to rebrand as eNL Mutual Bank ahead of launch
South Gauteng High Court allows YWBN Mutual Bank to rebrand as eNL Mutual Bank ahead of the launch Image: IOL / Independent Newspapers In a landmark ruling, the South Gauteng High Court has granted an urgent interim order in favour of YWBN Mutual Bank, allowing the bank to change its name to eNL Mutual Bank ahead of its scheduled launch next month. The court's decision on Wednesday comes amid ongoing delays and frustrations over the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) Prudential Authority's (PA) refusal to approve the name change, which threatens the bank's operational timeline. Background and Legal Action YWBN Mutual Bank was initially approved to establish in March 2021, with the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) granting authorisation on January 29, 2024, under Section 13 of the Mutual Banks Act. Despite this, the bank encountered hurdles when seeking the SARB's permission to amend its name. The Reserve Bank showed little interest in processing the request, effectively stalling the bank's plans to rebrand ahead of its launch. In response, Nthabeleng Likotsi, the founder of YWBN Mutual Bank, along with her legal team, filed an application in the South Gauteng High Court seeking an urgent order to compel SARB to approve the name change. Court Ruling and Key Quotes Judge Mudau presided over the matter and delivered a ruling that, while not fully deciding on the merits of the name change, granted a provisional order allowing the bank to proceed with rebranding. The court ordered SARB to, within 48 hours, record the new name, eNL Mutual Bank, in its official records. The court's judgment stated, "The respondent and the registrar are directed to, within 48 hours of this order, enter the new name in their records in place of the former name, provided the certificate previously issued is delivered for cancellation. A new certificate shall then be issued to the applicant under the new name." The court further indicated that SARB has until June 9 to justify why a full order should not be granted, effectively giving the regulator a final deadline to act. Impact and Significance This ruling marks a historic milestone, making Likotsi the first woman in South Africa to have her name associated with a bank—an achievement that places her among the ranks of notable banking pioneers such as Barclays and JP Morgan. In her affidavit, Likotsi stated that the proposed name has already been tested in the market during the 'Own the Bank Share Scheme,' surpassing its initial projections by attracting 10,000 subscribers—more than three times the target. 'This overwhelming response demonstrates strong public support for the name and the bank's mission." Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕
IOL News
30-04-2025
- IOL News
Pastor told widow he was divorced - court sides with her in RAF customary marriage case
The South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg ordered the Road Accident Fund to compensate a widow after an intense legal battle surrounding the legitimacy of her customary marriage. Image: File The South Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg ordered the Road Accident Fund (RAF) to compensate a widow, Catherine Letaoana, after an intense legal battle surrounding the legitimacy of her customary marriage to the late Samuel Chauke. Chauke died in a car accident in 2011. He was first married to Flora Manganyi in a civil union and later entered into a customary marriage with Letaoana. Chauke and Manganyi were not divorced but had lived separately for over 20 years. Letaoana, 60, insisted that she was legally married to the deceased by way of customary marriage. However, RAF denied the existence of the customary marriage, and the fact that Letaoana had relied on Chauke for financial support. In her application, she testified that she met Chauke in 2007 and he told her he was divorced. Subsequently in August 2007 they decided to cohabitate. She explained that she had no reason to doubt that he was divorced because he was a pastor and was ordained in 2008 at a church in Rustenburg. Moreover, his divorce status was confirmed by some of his relatives including his son and uncle. As their relationship progressed, she said Chauke introduced her to his sisters and cousins but, in accordance with Tsonga tradition, he could only introduce her to his mother after lobola had been paid. Similarly, Chauke could not enter her parental residence in accordance with Tswana custom after payment of lobolo. In March 2010 they celebrated their marriage at her parents' house, and she went to Chauke's family in Malamulele, Limpopo during May 2010, and was welcomed by his family members. Before meeting Chauke, she said she worked at a well-known law firm in Johannesburg as a Human Resources Consultant. She resigned in 2004 to start a restaurant business and eventually sold it. Thereafter, she has not been employed again as it was hard to find another job due to her age. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. 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Next Stay Close ✕ She said Chauke was employed and earned R11,000 every month and the money was used to support both of them, and he also sent some to his mother. During his funeral, she was allowed to sit on the traditional widows' mattress, while the second wife, who had also attended the funeral, was not allowed to sit on the mattress. She argued that this signified that Chauke's family recognised her as the wife. After the funeral, Chauke's employer informed her that she was a beneficiary on his policy and when she went to his workplace, she found the first wife already there. She said she received 60%, a figure that contrasted with the 40% allocated to Manganyi. She shared her amount with Chauke's mother and gave her five percent. Even though she remarried again in March 2024, she said she and her new husband are surviving on government grants. Meanwhile, in a written argument, RAF sought to argue that the customary marriage was invalidated by the provisions of the Civil Union Act which prohibits the conclusion of a customary marriage where there was a pre-existing civil marriage or civil union. However, this defence was never pleaded in court, nor put to Letaoana during cross-examination. Judge Dawid Marais said RAF was not entitled to rely on such defence as the defence was not pleaded, nor was it fully ventilated during the trial. RAF tried to rely on Chauke's death certificate which showed that he was still married to Manganyi, but judge Marais said the death certificate was meaningless as it does not reflect the entire history of the marriage, whether the marriage was dissolved by divorce, or by the death of a spouse. "It also does not indicate whether the marriage was by way of civil union or by customary law. In the premises, the content of the death certificate does not assist the defendant (RAF) in this matter. In addition, he said RAF failed to prove that Chauke and Manganyi's marriage was extant. Judge Marais said he could not find deception in Letaoana's evidence as she had no reason to doubt a man who was to be ordained as a pastor, secondly, he assured her that he was divorced. Additionally, his family also believed that he was divorced. Consequently, RAF was ordered to pay Letaoana for the loss of support caused by Chauke's death. The matter was postponed to determine an appropriate amount due to Letaoana. IOL News Get your news on the go, click here to join the IOL News WhatsApp channel.
