Woman fakes hubby’s death to claim benefits

A 47-year-old woman of Ngculwini was sentenced to two years imprisonment with a fine option of E2 000 for fraudulently misrepresenting her husband as deceased in a bid to claim burial benefits.

Jabu Maseko-Kunene appeared before Senior Magistrate Sifiso Vilakati on two counts of fraud. She pleaded guilty to unlawfully misrepresenting her husband Dumisani Kunene as deceased to defraud Bunye Betfu and NAPSAWU of burial benefits in October 2025.

The court heard that the accused submitted a fraudulent death certificate for her husband, who was alive, in support of claims for burial benefits.

The misrepresentation was made with intent to induce both institutions to pay out money to which she was not entitled.

According to the charge sheet, the potential prejudice to Bunye Betfu was E30 000, while NAPSAWU stood to lose E20 000.

In mitigation, Maseko-Kunene told the court that her troubles began after she started borrowing money from a matron at work who operated a cash loan business.

She said she took loans in her own name on behalf of other people, but they later failed to repay her.

“I borrowed E15 000 for my neighbour Sithembile and E10 000 for my husband and his nephew,” Maseko-Kunene said. The latter had been arrested for assault, thus each needed E5 000 for a fine.

She claimed that as a result she borrowed the E10 000 to secure their release from custody. The financial pressure worsened in April last year when her son died.

She had to borrow more money from the same matron for the burial. When it was time for repayment with interest, she sold her fridge and window frames, but the money was not enough.

“Despite selling some of my assets, the money was not enough to pay off all the debts.

“That is when I came up with a plan of faking my husband’s death certificate,” she said.

Maseko-Kunene reportedly travelled to Nhlangano to obtain the death certificate because they did not know her there. She said officials processed the document quickly since her matter appeared urgent as it involved a burial.

The dubious plan was exposed when she attempted to claim burial cover from Bunye Betfu using the fraudulent certificate. Officials detected irregularities and reported the matter to the police, leading to her arrest.

After considering her guilty plea and personal circumstances, the magistrate sentenced her to two years imprisonment with a fine option of E2 000.