By Anita Dangazele
A 62-year-old Port Alfred mother is facing fraud charges after continuing to claim a Child Support Grant for her deceased daughter for five years.
The woman failed to report the 2017 death of her 13-year-old daughter, Phelokazi Dyongwana-Mdambatya, who was kidnapped, raped, tortured, and murdered before being dumped in a manhole.
One of two surviving victims of the brutal crime revealed the details years later, saying she had informed Phelokazi’s mother at the time, but the mother allegedly took no action. Instead, she continued to collect the grant until the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) automatically stopped it when Phelokazi would have turned 18.
Human rights activist Petros Majola from the Khula Development Project condemned the mother’s actions.
“The question is, how does a mother sleep at night and continue claiming the grant while she was fully aware that her child was no more?”
“While we (Khula Community Dev. Project EC and Port Alfred Crime Fighters) understand that Phelokazi’s mother is an old woman, we took the matter up with the police as we believed that what she did was wrong. We want justice for Phelokazi even if she will not come back to this earth,” Majola added.
National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Luxolo Tyali confirmed the mother’s arrest and said she appeared in court on Wednesday. The case has been postponed to 13 January 2025.
Eastern Cape police confirmed in September that human remains were found near the crime scene and sent for DNA testing.
No arrests related to the murder have been made yet.
Pictured above: Port Alfred residents marching to a local police station to demand justice for Phelokazi Dyongwana-Mdambatya in September.
Source: Supplied
