A 30-year-old man of Tincatsavaneni has appeared before the Buhleni Circuit Court after allegedly using a stolen ATM card belonging to a member of the Eswatini Umbutfo Defence Force (EUDF) to purchase alcohol worth E1 573.
Mndeni Ncongwane appeared before Magistrate Ntombifuthi Manyatsi yesterday facing a charge of theft. He conducted his own defence.
According to the charge sheet, Ncongwane wrongfully, unlawfully and intentionally stole E1 573 from an Eswatini Building Society (EBS) account by using an ATM card belonging to Justice Dlamini.
The transactions were made at Mbutfweni Wine and Malt on June 20.
He pleaded guilty. However, owing to the seriousness of the offence, the Crown led evidence by calling the complainant to testify. Dlamini informed the court that he works at Phocweni as a member of the EUDF.
“On that day I had gone to watch a soccer match at Mkhuzweni Technical Centre. After the game, my friends and I went to Mbutfweni Wine and Malt at Buhleni,” he said.
Dlamini testified that he bought two beers and later joined his sister at a table inside the establishment.
“We continued drinking and I eventually became intoxicated.
“When I went to buy more beer, I fell down and my ID, bank card and passport fell from my pocket,” he told the court.
He said patrons assisted him back to his table where he later blacked out.
“The following morning when I woke up, I realised that some of my belongings were missing.
“I went to my friend who gave me my phone. When I switched it on, I received about five bank notifications informing me that purchases had been made using my bank card,” he said.
Dlamini added that he visited the bank and obtained a statement reflecting the transactions.
“I then went to Mbutfweni Wine and Malt to inquire about what had happened.
“I was informed that a man known as Ncongwane had been using a red bank card to tap and buy alcohol the previous night,” he said.
He reported the matter to the police, who subsequently arrested the accused.
“The police later recovered all my missing items,” Dlamini told the court.
Following the evidence, the Crown applied for the matter to be postponed to July 20 for continuation of trial.
Ncongwane applied for bail, saying he had to go back to work so as to be able to repay Dlamini’s money.
Bail was granted fixed at E2 000 with conditions.
