5 mitha frozen in groceries stokvel ‘scam’!

IT remains to be seen whether residents who participated in the “grocery stokvel” pyramid scheme will get their refunds, or not.

The organisation, called Women Against Poverty and Hunger (WAPH), has been collecting a once-off R300 from people, promising them year-long groceries.

The Gauteng High Court has issued two preservation orders to freeze more than R5 million in various bank accounts linked to Women Against Poverty and Hunger and its founder, Kelebogile Precious Phumo, and her board members.

These orders were issued in favour of the National Prosecuting Authority on 18 and 30 September.

The National Consumer Commission (NCC) has found that the scheme, run by WAPH, was actually a pyramid scheme disguised as a grocery stokvel.

The stokvel was run in Daveyton, Etwatwa, Thembisa, Vaal, Soweto, and other parts of Mzansi, as well as in countries such as Lesotho and Zimbabwe.

Participants or residents were targeted from churches and vulnerable communities. The stokvel came under scrutiny after some of the participants failed to get promised groceries on set dates.

Pastor Mimi Rankale from Daveyton saying Women Against Poverty and Hunger is not a pyramid scheme. Video by Ntebatse Masipa
#dailysun#snl24#waphpyramidscheme pic.twitter.com/IEvEhFbhm2

— Ntebatse Masipa (@ntebatse_SNL24) October 14, 2024

On 1 October in Daveyton, angry participants took Pastor Mimi Rankale, a member of WAPH and a promoter, to the local police after failing to get their groceries.

Participants claimed to have been scammed. The affidavit was done on the same day, 1 October, at the police station with the promoter, promising to give participants what’s due to them.

Now, with preservation orders in place, promoters are under pressure. The preservation orders bar them from touching the money in the bank accounts and from further promoting the scheme.

Last Thursday, 10 October, there was a meeting between the community representatives from Sanco, Daveyton Crime Alert, and WAPH.

Princess Elsie Mbunjane, who is the president of WAPH, insisted they aren’t running a pyramid scheme and are a registered non-profit company.

“This is a Vukuzenzele. We’re feeding a nation, something the government has failed to do. We also want those who label us as scammers to meet us. The NCC must come to hear our side of the story,” Mbunjane said.

She said whether there are preservation orders or not, they still continue to feed the nation.

“WAPH has sponsors and we’re not going to stop feeding the nation. In fact, we’re going to challenge these court orders,” she said.

Community representatives wanted the organisation to stop as this is in violation of the preservation orders.

“We’re worried because WAPH continues to operate, despite the preservation orders,” said a Daveyton Crime Alert member.