Crime

MANZINI – Stokvel savings amounting to over E40 000 have vanished from the house of a lecturer in the Manzini Region.

The money was reportedly discovered missing on Saturday morning, following the 2025 Black Friday weekend. A source close to the matter alleged that the theft occurred at the lecturer’s residence on campus, where she had been keeping the contributions. According to the source, the lecturer had been staying with a final-year student from the same institution. She is said to have taken the young man in through a church arrangement, offering him accommodation while he completed his studies.

When the lecturer later checked the safe place where the stokvel money was kept, the student was reportedly nowhere to be found. As there were no signs of forced entry, the lecturer is said to have suspected that someone with access to the house could have taken the money. She later reported the matter to the police, stating that the student was the only other person residing in the home.

When contacted for comment, the lecturer said she was not ready to speak about the matter as she was still traumatised by the incident.

Further information from the source suggested that the lecturer had been entrusted by her family to collect their monthly contributions for a year-end holiday. This was reportedly a long-standing arrangement within the family, who take turns managing the savings annually.

The source alleged that the lecturer believed the student may have known she was keeping money in the house and could have taken advantage of her busy examination schedule to steal it.

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Stokvel savings amounting to over E40 000 have vanished from the house of a lecturer in the Manzini Region. (File pic)