Judge Cites 'Conscious and Calculated Decision-Making' Yet Spares Student Jail Over $1M Error

Judge Sally Collett accepted that a student's 'conscious and calculated' splurge of misdirected funds was criminal, yet still spared her jail, suspending a five‑year sentence for spending part of a R14 million (£750,000) payment made to her by mistake.

Sibongile Mani, a South African student who spent a huge sum wrongly paid into her bank account, has avoided prison. The High Court in Makhanda suspended her five‑year sentence in 2023.

Judge Collett said Mani's spending was 'unquestionably the result of conscious and calculated decision‑making'. She still doubted that jail would serve the interests of justice.

How the Sibongile Mani Case Began

The money arrived in 2017. Mani, then 27, was studying at Walter Sisulu University (WSU) and relied on benefits for tuition and living costs. She received around 1,400 rands, about $100 (€86 and £75), to cover essentials.

A payment error from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) then put 14 million rands in her account. That is roughly $1 million (€860,000 and £750,000).

According to Samkelo Mqhayi, a secretary of the South African Students Congress, Mani used the money to buy designer handbags, a new iPhone and concert tickets for herself and her friends.

Mqhayi told reporters at the time that she 'threw surprise birthday parties for her friends and showered them with expensive gifts and flew them to events where she bought the best seats'.

Mani was identified 73 days later, after dropping a bank receipt in a supermarket. By then she had spent about $40,000 (€34,400 and £30,000).

Mqhayi said the leaked receipt showed a balance of R13.6 million, or $1,050,000 (€903,000 and £788,000). He said he phoned NSFAS, which checked its records and confirmed the original deposit was R14 million, or $1,080,000 (€929,000 and £810,000).

The dollar, euro and pound figures differ from the $1 million figure used elsewhere, reflecting different exchange rates and different points in time. The rand amounts are the firmer reference.

Sentence, Appeal and the Sibongile Mani Ruling

Mani was reported to police and charged with theft and fraud later in 2017. In 2022 she was sentenced to five years in jail. By then she was a mother of two.

Her lawyer, Asanda Pakade, appealed. Speaking outside court after the sentencing, Pakade called the outcome 'shocking' and said, 'To us, her being found guilty does not make sense.'

In 2023 the High Court in Makhanda ruled that the sentence would be suspended, on condition that Mani is not convicted of fraud or theft during those five years.

She was also ordered to complete 576 hours of community service. The court ordered regular counselling and rehabilitative programmes.

During the appeal, Pakade told the court that when the money arrived, his client 'couldn't even afford to buy a quarter of a loaf of brown bread'. Mani, the court heard, was 'sitting with an empty stomach'.

What the Mani Judgment Does Not Settle

Judge Collett did not excuse the spending. She said it would be 'undesirable to understate the behaviour of Mani', and that incarceration was unlikely to satisfy the interests of justice.

Mani remains subject to a suspended five-year sentence. Any new conviction for fraud or theft during that period could result in the jail term being enforced.

The court has not said whether any of the money was recovered. No official figure for the total spent has been provided beyond the roughly $40,000 reported at the time. IBTimes UK cannot independently verify these claims.

Reports differ on whether a jury was involved in the case, although the matter was heard in the High Court. The court record would clarify the procedure followed.