A Soweto father of six children insists the woman who appeared before the Palm Ridge Magistrate’s Court for allegedly scamming different women, who lost R2 million in total, also defrauded him.
Ishmael Masango (not his real name) was emotional as he sat in the public gallery of the packed court when the Limpopo businesswoman who is resident in Gauteng, Mmakgomo Doris Ngcobo, 42, walked into the dock.
Ngcobo, known to victims of scams only as Lebo or Linky, was flanked by her co-accused, two Ugandan nationals, Derrick Nsubuga, 34, and Nassazi Joan, 31.
All victims who have opened cases against Ngcobo remember her as this swanky woman driving German sedans and adorned in Louis Vuitton apparel and accessories.
“In the two days I closely interacted with her closely, I could see the Gucci and Louis Vuitton trademarks on her clothes. She was driving a two-door Mercedes-Benz vehicle. She drove me two times to the banks where I withdrew my money and it was all stolen in the scam,” said Masango.
On Thursday, Ngcobo, Nsubuga and Joan appeared in in court for different romance scam cases where three South African women who were in sexual relationships with Ugandan men were allegedly defrauded of an around R2 million in total.
Magistrate Sheron Soko-Rantao ruled on Thursday that due to the amount involved, the three accused are facing a serious schedule five offence.
The R2 million case was postponed to December, when Ngcobo, Nsubuga and Joan will continue to push for release on bail.
The prosecution, led by advocate Alistair Appel, told the court they were not prepared to respond to the trio’s bail application, but it seems there is a pending case against Ngcobo. That information needs to be verified, including the immigration status of Nsubuga and Joan.
On the other hand, IOL has been investigating the case of the Soweto father, Masango, who lost R1 million which was his pension from a mining company where he had worked as an artisan for many years.
Masango was contacted around March through Facebook Messenger by people who claimed to be prayer warriors, who invited him to their house. At the house, Masango met “twins” who only introduced themselves as “Mommy” and “Chief”.
After being scammed, Masango opened a police case and two Ugandans, Amumpiire Joanita who is accused of being “Mommy” and Kiweewa Adrian Aval who is accused of being “Chief”. The two are behind bars and have made court appearances.
As the scam progressed, Masango was introduced to “ancestors” whose voices told him they had blessed him with a generous R6 million and he must resign from work and venture into business with his newfound fortune.
IOL’s exclusive investigations have previously exposed the “voices of ancestors” as part of well choreographed, Hollywood-winning performances of fake miracles, voices being heard from phony ancestors, leaving the unsuspecting victim paralysed in fear, shock, awe, disbelief and confusion.
IOL has previously reported that the voice heard by the victims in the darks rooms is of a person or people who are part of the scam, hiding in a concealed compartment or another room of the house.
When Masango resigned from work, and his pension was in his bank account, that is when the woman known to her as Lebo appeared on the scene.
“I had asked the ancestors how I would be able to withdraw the R1 million in cash and bring it to them. They said I should not worry about that part because their spiritual daughter was going to handle everything pertaining to banks.
“The voices said I must go into the bank and withdraw my R1 million pension and bring into to them. They said they wanted to bless it and mix it with the other R6 million and I would take the money back to the bank. They said they were sending their spiritual daughter to come and assist me on this process,” said Masango.
“Minutes later, the white Mercedes-Benz arrived at the house. That is when I met Lebo for the first time. She was with a young lady who she said was her daughter, and I do not recall her name. We drove to Mall of Africa and Lebo remained in the car, and I went into the bank with the daughter. That young lady told officials in the bank that she had already made arrangements with bank teller Thabang,” he said.
Masango said Thabang gleefully welcomed them.
“The way he was smiling, you could tell that they know each other. On that day, we managed to withdraw R500,000 and he said the following day we would get the other R500,000 but on the second day, we did not get the entire R500,000. We withdrew something close to that. Lebo drove me back to the house of ‘Mommy’ and ‘Chief’,” he said.
However, metres before reaching the home, a robbery incident happened where assailants who were parked near the gate suddenly surrounded Lebo’s Mercedes-Benz and took the bag loaded with bank notes.
“When it happened, I believed it was a random robbery incident. But in hindsight, all these were tricks. About eight men with guns surrounded the Mercedes-Benz and demanded the money. I was stuck in the back seat of the two-door Mercedes-Benz and could not even stand up to fight. Amid the commotion, ‘Chief’ came out and told me to run and hide in the ”temple“ in their house.
“The voice of the ancestors were busy enquiring regarding the car driven by the robbers. They said they will catch them. ‘Chief’ was told to pick up some sand where the robbers were standing. I was told to go home straight and not speak to anyone. At that time, nothing was clicking in me that I was being scammed,” said Masango.
After a few days of being told to pray, his mobile phone was taken and he was secluded in a house rented by the scammers, Masango realised that he had been taken for a ride.
“My mind came back. Everything played before my eyes to make me realise that I am being robbed here. I told myself to relax and continue to play along. That is how I helped the police to catch Amumpiire Joanita who is accused of being ‘Mommy’ and Kiweewa Adrian Aval,“ said Masango.
During the arrest of Amumpiire Joanita and and Kiweewa Adrian Aval, Masango said R50,000, bunches of Zimbabwean dollars and about 12 cellphones were found.
Amumpiire Joanita and and Kiweewa Adrian Aval are set to return to court in December. Masango insists Lebo was the mastermind behind the scam and it is a matter of time before she faces justice.
“That woman destroyed me. A lot of damage was done to me personally. I was in a job where I was earning plus or minus R50,000. They made me to quit. I would receive more money for overtime and bonuses. I had lots of benefits. I had medical aid at that time,” said Masango.
“All that has gone down the drain. I had 18 years of service. It went down the drain. I resigned and forfeited some of the packages for my service. I have a family to take care of. I have six children. I have lost a lot.
“They must pay me back. I would like to sue them,” he said.
Masango also told IOL that in the earlier days, he had also been a victim of another mysterious robbery incident where he had also lost his property, including his identity document and sunglasses. He believes that it was also a staged robbery to get his property.
Masango added that after resigning, he had no means of an income and the scammers rented a place for him to stay, where his movements were restricted and his phone was often taken away. He feels that the scammers also kidnapped him during that time.
IOL has been running the scammed series, where numerous South African women have now joined hands, speaking out against the rampant romance scams.
The women who are often breadwinners in their households, are left destitute, emotionally traumatised, with some women reportedly committing suicide after being scammed.
IOL