Cape Town – Sophia Najjia, a Ugandan traditional healer, was sentenced to 30 years in prison by the Welkom Regional Court in Free State after she defrauded a 54-year-old miner of his R955 300 pension fund in 2020.
According to News24, the miner, a Mozambican national, was made to believe that the money would multiply into millions of rands.
It all began when the miner, who stayed at one of the mine premises in Welkom, fell in love with a woman who introduced him to her sister, Najjia who happened to be a traditional healer.
“The couple visited the traditional healer in Welkom where the man was told to buy a miracle box worth R2 000. After two days the man gave the traditional healer the money and he was shown how the miracle box works.
“The man was asked to put a coin inside the miracle box and the traditional healer then prayed for it. After opening the box there was a lot of money in it and the man was told it belongs to him,” police said in a statement.
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The traditional healer then encouraged the 54-year-old to retire from his job so that he could make more money from the miracle box using his retirement funds. In August 2020 he retired.
“In September 2020 he received some of the retirement money amounting to R233 000 and he gave it to his girlfriend to invest in the miracle box. Later in October 2020, the man received his provident fund money worth R689 000 and he gave it to his girlfriend and the traditional healer to put inside the miracle box. On Wednesday, November 4 2020 he gave them the rest of the remaining money in his bank account which was R12 300 and he was told to wait for instructions,” said the police.
The traditional healer advised the man to return to his home country and obtain soil from his yard so he could place it in the “magic box” so that his money could be multiplied into millions of rands by the ancestors.
However, the man informed the traditional healer that he lacked the funds to travel to his hometown to obtain the necessary soil. He was then given R1 000, which was insufficient for him to travel to Mozambique and come back to South Africa.
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He tried to contact his girlfriend and Najjia to voice his concern but with no luck. That was when he became suspicious and went to Welkom Police Station to register a case of fraud.
Upon working around the clock, the police managed to trace and apprehend the traditional healer on January 23, 2021. Her bail was denied and she, therefore, remained in custody.
Najjia was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment on charges of unfair business practice, defeating the ends of justice, fraud, and illegal immigration.
Her sister, who is the man’s girlfriend, is still at large, according to News24.
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Picture: Facebook/@Skhokho Groovein
Compiled by Sinothando Siyolo
