Six months. That’s how long it took for a man to meet a Northern Cape woman, propose love to her, move into her home and then allegedly scam her of R2m with the help of a traditional healer he had introduced her to.
However, taking the R2m pension money she worked 30 years for as a teacher was not enough for them, Cheryl* said.
She said they also scared her, telling her to sell her house as it is cursed because it was built over a dead body and to sell her car too, or else she will get into an accident with it.
While she sold the car and still gave them the money, she drew the line at selling the house after finally realising she was being scammed.
During an interview with Sowetan, Cheryl could not stop crying as she relayed how she is now jobless and battling to make ends meet while her former boyfriend moved to Cape Town, where he has an Uber business and a new girlfriend.
I worked for 30 years for that money; I’m still devastated. I’m suffering.
— Victim of romance scam
She does not know where the traditional healer is but believes she and her ex are busy scamming more people.
“I worked for 30 years for that money; I’m still devastated. I’m suffering. I’m not used to this life, but I’m trying to make ends meet,” the 55-year-old woman said, crying.
It all started in June 2022 when she met a Ugandan man who introduced himself as Ronald Ssenyonga. According to Cheryl, it was not love at first sight, as she did not like him.
However, she said she later found herself suddenly being in love with Ssenyonga, who even moved into her house.
When they met, Cheryl had health issues, and despite having gone to doctors several times, they could not help her. She said her ear was constantly itching, and that also affected her work.
Ssenyonga, however, took her to a traditional healer, another Ugandan national. Cheryl said the healer told her “an ugly story about snakes crawling inside my body”. “She told me that the case is too heavy for her to handle, and she will have to consult my ancestors.”
From there, she said, she was constantly taken to a prayer room at night, and it was dark inside.
She said there was a curtain in the room, and behind it would be voices which the healer said were of her parents as well as grandparents, and she must do as they say, as they want to help and bless her.
They also gave her some medicine to burn, she recalled. “They would burn the medicine on a hot coal, and I would put my face on the smoke. I was desperate and thought maybe this is an opportunity for me to get healed,” she said.
Instead of getting help with her health issue, Cheryl said the healer told her that the ancestors say they want to bless her. In order to do that, they want her to leave her job, get her pension and start an investment in a business that will give her millions in return.
“Maybe they hypnotised me because I did everything they said. They also said I have a spiritual husband that will kill everyone close to me and wants to give me happiness.”
While Cheryl said she did not want to resign and only wanted to extend her sick leave, Ssenyonga pushed her to resign. Throughout all this, she said, Ssenyonga was constantly using muthi and bathing in it.
In January 2023, she said she got R1.9m from her employer. She transferred it the same day into the account number Ssenyonga and the traditional healer gave her.
The healer disappeared in March 2023, but Cheryl said Ssenyonga said she should not worry.
She sold the car in March and still put the money in the bank account she was given. The following year she got more money from the department, and Ssenyonga still persuaded her to deposit it and later disappeared to Cape Town.
“One day I called, and he said I don’t have to call him anymore. I was devastated. I’m still suffering the consequences. And I’m here starting all over again.”
Cheryl believes the medicine they gave her is what hypnotised her, as she would not have given them her money had she been in the right state of mind.
Spokesperson for the Northern Cape police Col Cherelle Ehlers confirmed that Cheryl has opened a case of fraud and that they are investigating.
Dr Simon Howell, criminologist and researcher, said government employees such as teachers and police officers are frequently targeted in pension-related fraud schemes because they usually belong to government-managed pension funds. These pension schemes often allow members to cash out a portion or all of their pension as a lump sum before retirement, under certain conditions. “Fraudsters exploit this rule,” he said.
According to Howell, the scams usually rely on deception, persuasion, and manipulation. “Fraudsters exploit trust, authority, or emotional pressure to influence the victim’s decision. They also depend on coercion or threats, as in some cases, victims are made to feel vulnerable through intimidation, blackmail, or fear.
“Regardless of the method used, the goal is the same: to pressure or deceive the individual into accessing their pension funds prematurely,” said Howell.
- Not her real name
