Maoeng in court on multiple ch

Close up of credit cards. Image by Rawpixel via canva.com

Maoeng in court on multiple charges after being caught using a dead Dr’s credit card

The Sasolburg police have the daunting task of figuring out how Maoeng was could’ve been in possession of a deceased gynaecologist’s car and credit card.

Maoeng in court on multiple ch

Close up of credit cards. Image by Rawpixel via canva.com

On 30 June at the Sasolburg lodge, 62-year-old Doctor Godfrey Sankubele Dire, from Sunward Park in Boksburg, was found dead. Two days later, his credit card was allegedly used by Malibyane Maoeng, the 26-year-old woman he was last seen with.

Maoeng’s lavish spending spree

After allegedly spending a total of R21 000 on a washing machine, a double-door fridge, a bed and a carpet, the woman also withdrew R5 000 for a deposit on an apartment she was looking to rent.

Caught two weeks ago, after being on the run for nearly a month, Maoeng appeared in court yesterday. She faces charges of fraud and possession of a stolen vehicle.

After she declined representation by a Legal Aid lawyer and chose to get a private attorney, her case was postponed until Thursday for a formal bail application.

Maoeng’s connection to Dr Sankubele Dire

Before her capture, she had been last seen on 30 June, leaving a Sasolburg lodge in Dr Dire’s white Mercedes-Benz. Maoeng, allegedly, drove his car to a place she was renting with friends in Daveyton, on the East Rand.

The car’s tracker was removed at an unknown location in Edenvale, east of Johannesburg.

Three days after the doctor’s death, the vehicle was found in possession of a couple at a hotel in Benoni. The individual was found to be Maoeng’s ex-boyfriend and his girlfriend.

Maoeng had, allegedly, lent her ex-boyfriend the vehicle two days after the doctor’s death. The couple has since been granted bail.

The details of Maoeng’s suspicious behaviour

When police searched Maoeng’s newly rented apartment at Blue Lakes estate, in Benoni, they found her hiding inside the base of her new bed. Maoeng had cut it open and slid inside when the police arrived on her doorstep.

Dr Dire’s daughter, Nomava, shared the unusual tale

“They went into her flat, looked for her but there was no one. When they tried to lift the bed, it felt unusually heavy. Then they heard her roll inside the base.”

Nomava further disclosed that police had given them the furniture Maoeng had fraudulently bought and that the accused had signed the receipts of the purchases with a fake name – ‘Zaza Dire’. She had claimed to be the deceased’s wife.

Captain Mavela Masondo explained that the fraud charge was added after the police had suspicions about the use of the victim’s credit card to purchase items for an apartment Maoeng moved into two days after Dire’s death.

The victim’s cause of death is still undetermined, even though his family believes he might have been killed. The police have since opened an inquest.

What we know about Dr Sankubele Dire

Dr Dire had recently started working as a gynaecologist at Sasolburg Hospital.

In the week he checked in at the lodge, he was attending an induction for his new job, according to his family.

The grieving Nomava expressed that

“I just want justice to be served for my father and for him to rest in peace knowing we fought for him because his death has left us with a very deep wound and a big question mark.”