Local Student Bravely Uses Mistaken $1M Deposit To End the Suffering of Empty Designer Handbags

South African student Sibongile Mani spent more than R800,000 (about €43,000 and £36,000 at current rates) from a mistaken student-aid payment reported to be worth about $1 million (approximately £748,000) in 2017, then faced a theft conviction and prison sentence. The Eastern Cape Division of the High Court in Makhanda later upheld the conviction but suspended the sentence.

The payment was meant to be Mani's monthly National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) stipend of R1,400 (about €76 and £63 at 22 October 2026 exchange rates). Instead, Intellimali, the company contracted to disburse NSFAS funds, paid more than R14 million into her Walter Sisulu University account.

How Sibongile Mani Spent the NSFAS Money

The National Prosecuting Authority said Mani spent more than R800,000 (about €43,000 and £36,000 at current rates). A TimesLIVE report puts the amount at R818,000, approximately €44,000 and £37,000 at those rates. The two reports do not use precisely the same figure, so the NPA's confirmed threshold is the clearest reference.

The purchases included handbags, a new iPhone and concert tickets, according to VT.co. Samkelo Mqhayi, then a secretary of the South African Students Congress, told Herald Live that Mani also bought gifts for friends, arranged birthday parties and took them to events.

Those details give the spending spree its human scale, but they do not alter the central point in the case: the money was not hers to keep.

VT.co says Mani was caught after dropping a bank receipt at a supermarket, 73 days after the payment. The NPA describes a 76-day spending spree. Those accounts differ on the duration and the exact discovery sequence, so the receipt story should be attributed to VT.co rather than treated as independently established.

The NPA's 2022 account says the spending took place across different towns and included prohibited items under NSFAS rules. Mani was convicted of theft by the East London Regional Court in March 2022 and sentenced to five years' imprisonment.

The distinction matters: although she was initially charged with theft and fraud, the offence of conviction was theft. The NPA's statement on the verdict also said the court found that Mani knew her actions were unlawful.

Why Sibongile Mani's Appeal Changed the Sentence

Sibongile Mani appealed both her conviction and sentence. In 2023, the Eastern Cape Division of the High Court in Makhanda dismissed her appeal against the theft conviction but altered the penalty.

Her original five-year prison term was replaced with a wholly suspended sentence, on condition that she is not convicted of theft or fraud during the suspension period.

The court also imposed three years of correctional supervision. This includes 576 hours of unpaid community service, regular counselling and rehabilitation programmes, and monitoring by a correctional official.

As a result, Mani did not go to prison, but the theft conviction remained in place.

Judge Sally Collett said Mani's conduct was the result of 'conscious and calculated decision-making', according to VT.co. The same report quotes the judge as saying it was doubtful that imprisonment would satisfy the interests of justice.

The appeal court's decision did not overturn the finding of deliberate theft. It revised the sentence after considering how justice should be served.

The National Prosecuting Authority said it accepted the appeal court's decision, while maintaining that using money someone is not entitled to remains a crime, even when it has been paid into their account.