Rhana Naicker fraud case postponed in Richards Bay

Rhana Naicker due back in Richards Bay Magistrate's Court next month

May 17, 2026

Conelia Harry 2 minutes read

Richards Bay Magistrate's Court PHOTO: Supplied

Convicted fraudster Rhana Naicker was back in the Richards Bay Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, where she appeared with her four co-accused on charges relating to mismanagement or embezzlement of funds from an NPO.

Appearing with co-accused Gloria Naidu, DeeAnn Huripursad, Nana Tsati and Bongani Masuku, businesswoman Naicker terminated her Legal Aid representative and opted to appoint her own counsel.

ALSO READ: Ten years for convicted fraudster Rhana Naicker

Attorneys representing the other accused called for a speedy finalisation of the matter, highlighting that their clients are being prejudiced because of Naicker’s delays in securing legal representation.

Naicker is expected to be back in court on 17 June for finalisation of her legal representation, followed by all five accused to be back in court on 28 July for a possible finalisation of a pre-trial date.

Naicker faces charges of fraud relating to mismanagement or embezzlement of funds from the Richards Bay Diwali Committee to the tune of R75 000.

The crimes were committed between 4 December 2020 and 16 March 2021.

Naicker and Naidu were signatories on the committee’s account and allegedly made fraudulent transactions to themselves.

Payments were also made to Haripursad, who is the daughter of Naicker, and the other two accused, Tsati and Masuku.

The latter two were then municipal staff and allegedly assisted in the application process to receive the R80 000 contribution for the annual Diwali event from the City of uMhlathuze.

In an unrelated matter, Naicker was sentenced in April to 10 years’ imprisonment by Ngwelezana Magistrate’s Court on a charge of theft.

Two years of her 10-year sentence was wholly suspended for a period of five years on condition that she is not convicted of theft during the period of suspension.

Charged in July 2022, Naicker illegally acted as a broker in 2017 for the sale of shares in the then Caltex Alton Garage franchise, where the complainant paid R500 000 for fraudulent shares.

Naicker is also appearing on other fraud-related charges in Empangeni Magistrate’s Court and Ngwelezana Magistrate’s Court.

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