A school principal in eNdwedwe near Verulam, KwaZulu-Natal, has been forced to quit the noble profession and flee.
As the head of the school, Nomaswazi Nkambule fears the wrath of loan sharks after she lost R123,000 in a local Ponzi scheme named after the late former head of state, Nelson Mandela.
Nkambule and other unsuspecting victims fell prey to the illegal investment scheme. The Ponzi scheme is known to locals as the Nelson Mandela R5 Coin Wealth. It targets mainly nurses, teachers and police officers.
The scheme was based in the small town of Verulam, outside Durban. It promised monthly returns of up to R3-million.
Some investors took their own lives
This depended on the type of “investment portfolio” one had signed up for. But it wasn’t to be, as the Ponzi scheme disappeared without a trace, ruining the lives of dozens of investors. Some of those who couldn’t endure the sudden change of fortune reportedly took their own lives.
Nkambule, who contacted Sunday World, explained that she had been recruited by a friend. The friend is a police station commander in one of the police stations in the area. “I’m a devoted Christian; I’ve never gambled in my life. But when he told me about it, I didn’t hesitate. I thought it was a legit investment, so I joined.
“[My plan was] to do it once and I borrowed R80,000 from two loan sharks. The other one is a taxi owner, while another is a colleague in the profession who also owns rental apartments,” she reluctantly told Sunday World on Tuesday. Nkambule explained that from the R80,000 he borrowed from the unscrupulous lenders, she added R35,000 from her own savings.
Was to get R786k from R123k investment
“I wanted to do it once because I was promised by the investment consultants that my money would come back with interest after two months. “They said according to the double platinum portfolio I had signed up for, I would walk away with R786,000 after two months,” she said. The investment varied, she said. Some would take their cash out monthly or after two weeks, depending on how much one had invested.
“Teachers, nurses, police officers and other trusted professionals lined up to invest. I joined it late in March this year. “The investment [scheme] had been running since 2023 without any glitches. Those who were first to join benefited,” she explained. She said she had to flee the area after she waited for two months. Only later she found out that the Ponzi had closed its offices and fled.
This left investors swimming in debt. “I was terrified. And my health drastically deteriorated. I had to quit teaching at the age of 51 prematurely in order to access my pension. Those to whom I owed money wanted me dead. I sold my car to pay some debts while waiting for a pension payout, but it wasn’t enough,” she said.
A police officer who was also swindled said several of his colleagues lost thousands in the scheme. “Some do not want to come out because it’s an embarrassing situation. A police office falls prey to scammers. How do you explain it?” said the officer, who goes by the name Sizwe. “But trust me, we’re following the masterminds.
Used coins with the later struggle icon
We know who they are and they will be punished,” he said. The so-called investors were selling the R5 coins emblazoned with the face of former President Nelson Mandela. Each R5 coin was accompanied by admin fees ranging from R1,600. This would guarantee R25,000 for each R5 coin invested. KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson Robert Netshiunda confirmed the matter.
He said that police were investigating a case of fraud and possible money laundering. “The matter was reported in Verulam. For now, there are no arrests and there is an ongoing investigation,” he said.
Nozipho Mtshali’s aunt Hlengiwe Ngwane was a nurse at a local clinic. She reportedly died in her sleep after discovering that the scheme had disappeared with her money. “It’s very painful for the family. We had to beg her to come back home. This after scores of other people spent several nights at the offices of the company.
“I assume they thought the company would eventually open. She locked herself in her room and after four days, she was lying dead in her bed. [My aunt] had plans of opening a salon business with the money,” she lamented.
