Filling station manager who stole R774k from employer gets 15 years

A filling station manager who stole R774,000 from her employer was on Tuesday sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment. 

The Mthatha specialised commercial crimes court handed down the sentence on Anele Mqhathu, 30, for the theft which was committed between February and November 2021 when she was employed at the filling station in Tsolo.   

The court sentenced her to a further 15 years for money laundering but ordered that the sentences run concurrently.  

“Mqhathu took money from the cashiers under false pretences that she was going to bank it, but she gave the money to her friends to deposit into her personal bank account and appropriated it for her personal use,” National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson Luxolo Tyali said. 

He said the filling station owner picked up irregularities and engaged the services of an accountant. 

“When Mqhathu was confronted about the allegations, she could not provide satisfactory answers and even admitted to the crime on a cellphone recording.” 

But after her arrest and during trial, she changed her tune and pleaded not guilty.   

The state led evidence of the owner of the business, two cashiers, the accountant and the investigating officers from the Hawks, Const Njabulo Nzimande and Capt Xolile Mdolomba.

Under cross-examination, Mqhathu also contradicted herself and made some admissions, the NPA said. 

Tyali said the NPA’s Asset Forfeiture Unit has made an application for the confiscation of the house that Mqhathu built with the money stolen from the filling station.

He said the house would be auctioned and the money paid back to the business owner. 

TimesLIVE