eMbalenhle SAPS counter resident’s property demands with fraud investigation into missing R1.37m

Sifiso Skosana accuses the eMbalenhle police of victimisation and unlawfully withholding his personal property after his arrest in connection with a fraud case.

Skosana said several of his belongings, including a television, vehicle, refrigerator, blankets and groceries, were seized by police when he was arrested.

He said the Evander Magistrate’s Court withdrew the fraud case against him on June 2, after the complainant died.

According to Skosana, he subsequently went to the police station to collect his belongings, but police refused to release it because the items were still being held as evidence.

Skosana is also accusing the police of taking his belongings without a court order during his arrest.

“Section 31 of the Criminal Procedure Act compels the police to return my property immediately, and there is no court preservation order against my assets; my assets were illegally taken without court order or the Sheriff of the court,” said Skosana.

He alleged that the investigating officer also refused to release the items, claiming they had been purchased with stolen funds, but allegedly failed to provide evidence to support the claim.

“I have tried multiple times to speak with the station management, but I am being stonewalled,” he said.

Skosana believes the continued retention of his belongings is unjustified because the criminal case against him was withdrawn.

He wants police to explain the legal basis for continuing to hold the property and to return his belongings.

However, Sergeant Busi Mthethwa, eMbalenhle police spokesperson, said Skosana had been informed why the property remained in police custody.

Mthethwa said that after the case was withdrawn, Skosana approached district and provincial police offices after being told that the withdrawal of the case did not necessarily end the investigation.

“Although the case against him was withdrawn because the complainant passed on, that doesn’t stop police from continuing with their work. The case was referred to the police’s legal department for an opinion, ” said Mthethwa.

She said the items Skosana is demanding are recorded on the SAP13 register and form part of the investigation.

“The alleged property Skosana demands to be released forms part of the investigation, and if the court withdraws the case, that doesn’t mean it won’t be reinstated for prosecution,” she said.

Mthethwa said a case could be provisionally withdrawn while investigators conduct further work or where there is insufficient evidence to proceed with the prosecution.

The fraud case arose after a pensioner, who has since died, opened a case against Skosana at the eMbalenhle Police Station in March.

Police allege that the pensioner lost about R1.37m.

According to Mthethwa, the complainant told police he met Skosana in 2017, when Skosana was doing electrical work at his home.

The complainant allegedly developed trust in Skosana and, after becoming seriously ill, would ask him for assistance with paying bills and withdrawing cash from an ATM.

Mthethwa said the complainant alleged that Skosana had access to his cellphone, knew his bank card PIN and had access to his banking application.

According to the police spokesperson, the complainant alleged that after receiving his pension in September 2025, more than R1,37m was transferred from his bank account to Skosana’s account without his consent.

Mthethwa said the deceased alleged that a neighbour noticed the transaction and alerted him, as well as his family, after allegedly becoming concerned that money was being taken from his account while he was ill.