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The Hawks in North West have appealed to the public for help in tracing three men accused of defrauding a 52-year-old Klerksdorp nurse of R2.5m in an alleged romance scam.
The Hawks said the woman met a man who identified himself as Emmanuel Kigezi in August 2025, and they entered into a romantic relationship.
Hawks spokesperson Lt-Col Tinyiko Mathebula said Kigezi allegedly told the woman that he was due to inherit R14m from his late father but that he first needed R1.2m to perform rituals to “cleanse” the will before the inheritance could be released.
“The suspect allegedly persuaded the woman to resign from her job so she could access her pension benefits.
“It is reported that the complainant resigned from her work and received her R2.5m pension payout,” said Mathebula. “She allegedly transferred R2m into the bank accounts of two companies as requested by Kigezi for the cleansing of the R14m will. After receiving the money, Kigezi and his accomplices disappeared.”
Mathebula said the money was allegedly transferred to companies linked to two other suspects — Clinton Akanyujuka and Junior Kanyesigye.
“After receiving the money, Kigezi and his accomplices disappeared.”
— Lt Col Tinyiko Mathebula
The Hawks said while they identified the three suspects as Kigezi, Akanyujuka and Kanyesigye, investigations have since shown that the names are false.
“Our investigation has revealed that those are not their real names, as home affairs does not have such names on its database,” Mathebula said.
The Hawks are urging anyone with information that could assist in locating the three suspects to contact the investigating team or the nearest police station.
Sowetan
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