The police took 11 people to court in Lenasia this week. They need to come back on June 10 for their bail hearing.
One suspect named Jaden Kenny has a fancy house in Johannesburg that costs R2.2 million.
She works at Sassa & handles grants. Her monthly pay is R27 000 but she owns cars worth R1.2 million.
Police officer Lindokuhle Monama told these facts to the court. We visited Kenny’s house to see it.
The house has big walls with electric fences and a pool. There’s room for lots of cars. We noticed a white Renault and some letters near the gate.
Monama thinks Kenny owns too much stuff for someone who makes R324 000 per year. Her cars alone cost R420 000 & no one knows where she got all this money. The police believe this points to fraud. They want to use this info to keep her in jail without bail.
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We visited a house in Soweto that belongs to Siphesihle Dlamini.
The property has tall walls with a gate that slides open and a covered spot for parking.
No one was home during our visit. In court Dlamini said she earned R30,000 each month from her consulting and transport business on top of her Sassa work.
Monama proved she was lying because no business was registered in her name. She only owns a house that cost R340000 in May 2024 & a car valued at R150,000.
The people living nearby didn’t want us to use their names because they felt unsafe.
They told us that the Dlaminis don’t mix much with others. A teacher lives in the house with her two children and Dlamini. The family bought a VW Polo in 2024 & later got a Hyundai i10 for their son in 2025. One neighbor mentioned they throw lots of parties. “We always see many cars outside and hear music plus they often have cookouts with their friends” the neighbor said.
Anonymous Tip from Shoprite Dlamini Junction Sparks Investigation
The police caught 11 thieves who stole money from Sassa over eight months. It began when workers at Shoprite spotted two people behaving oddly.
They saw Shumani Khwerana & Khensani Maluleke taking R6 000 from several tills. The police came & started asking questions.
Khwerana said her friend Tshilidzi Ramaphosa gave her the numbers to withdraw the money.
Police found Ramaphosa in his car outside the store. He had stolen Sassa equipment with him. He lied about owning a VW Polo during his bail request.
Ramaphosa later told police that Abenezer Tilahyn from Ethiopia gave him the numbers. Tilahyn works as a car mechanic and makes R10 000 for each car he fixes. He pays his bills and owns some property worth R200 000.
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Police officers spotted Tilahyn driving a silver Mercedes. During their search they found a loaded .357 Magnum handgun that he did not have permission to carry.
The search also turned up R50000 in cash & more than 200 bank cards from different banks including Sassa TymeBank FNB and Wizzit.
Tilahyn told police he made the cards through his computer business.
After working with the banks police discovered many cards were fake. They learned that others helped create false accounts at the Johannesburg Sassa office.
This led to more arrests. Police caught Siphesihle Dlamini Phiwe Mkhuzangwe and Paul Bowes at the Sassa office. Paul Miyambo and Jaden Kenny turned themselves in later.
Officers also arrested Phumelele Myeza at her home. The Sassa team confirmed these people broke the law by accessing their computer system without approval. They used this illegal access to make fake accounts and steal data.
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Authorities Warn Key Suspects Could Flee the Country
The prosecutor is opposing bail for the suspects. They discovered the group used counterfeit identification to claim social security benefits.
There’s concern they could escape because they have access to fake documents which they got from a corrupt Home Affairs employee.
The fraud investigation revealed they took over R600,000 from elderly people’s grants. They also managed to steal R3.8 million by using 41 benefit cards from a total of 129 that were found.
Police took 11 suspects into custody. They now face more than 1300 criminal charges for theft and fraud.
The criminal operation ran from August 2024 until March 2025. The main suspects include Phiwe Mkhuzangwe (37), Paul Bowes (49) Keamogetswe Ledwaba (49), Phumelele Myeza (37) and Paul Miyambo.
