A Khayelitsha woman’s hopes for better living conditions have left her in debt, and desperate for help after she was conned out of nearly R200 000.
Totyelwa Motebele took out a loan of R200 000 to finance her dream of buying a house in Harare and starting a new life.
However, she said, her happiness was short-lived after she was defrauded of R170 000 by two people who claimed to be estate agents and who facilitated the “sale”of a house in 2017.
Ms Motebele said she encountered the two while she was looking online for houses available in Khayelitsha and surrounds.
The 38-year-old mother of two said after she contacted them, they showed her a house in Harare which she was happy with, even though there were repairs which needed to be done.
She was then introduced to a person who she was told, was the owner of the house.
She deposited the money into this person’s bank account and it was agreed that she would sign the housing documents the following day.
A few days after she made the deposit, however, she discovered that the house she had “bought” was not for sale-and the actual owner of the house was oblivious to what was going on.
So, Ms Motebele immediately opened a case at Harare police station and a few days later the “agents” were arrested and confessed to what they had done.
However, she said, they were later released because the police argued that their arrest was premature and that they needed to gather more evidence to strengthen their case.
But, she added, months went by without her hearing anything about the status of the case from the investigating officers.
She alleged that the investigating officer played her a voice recording of the suspect begging him to make the case disappear and offering to pay R15 000 for that to happen.
She said the that detective assured her that he had a strong case and would add this to his evidence.
“But she has heard nothing since.
“Why there has never been an arrest?
“The officer knows where the suspect lives and they confessed that they committed the crime. I have raised the matter with the station commander who promised me that the case would be given to someone else.
“But the commander gave the case to the same officer. I raised my issues with him and said he will look into the matter and now he no longer takes my calls.
“When I checked my case document there is no update of the case and only my statement that is there.
“And the witness was never interrogated. I know I won’t get my money back but I just want the law to play its role,” she said.
Ms Motebele, who told Vukani she had attempted to take her own life, said she was now paying R5 000 a month for a house she does not have.
She said her daughter was currently in Grade 12 and she had no idea how she would pay her tuition fees next year. When Vukani inquired about the matter, Harare police station spokesperson, Captain Siyabulela Vukubi, said the case had been closed but he had no idea why. He said the detective responsible for the case, who was on leave, was the only one who could provide further details as to why the case had been closed.