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How couple used over 700 ghost workers to ‘steal’ R26m in Covid-19 UIF funds

Sowetan · · 587 words · By Nandi Ntini
Legal Proceedings Corruption and Fraud Financial Crime
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What to know about Legal Proceedings

Story audio is generated using AI A Mpumalanga couple accused of stealing over R26m from the Covid-19 employee relief fund by allegedly claiming money for more than 700 ghost workers have been granted bail of R300,000 each by the Middelburg magistrate’s court.

Claims checked 11
Techniques found 1
Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center75%
Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Story audio is generated using AI A Mpumalanga couple accused of stealing over R26m from the Covid-19 employee relief fund by allegedly claiming money for more than 700 ghost workers have been granted bail of R300,000 each by the Middelburg magistrate’s court.

Why it matters

Gladness Msiska Mkhonto, her husband Fumu Mkalira Cifu Msiska, and Gladness’s brother Bongani Zoren Mkhonto appeared in court on Monday facing fraud charges linked to the Temporary Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) and UIF scheme.

Common ground

The matter was postponed to July 20 for further investigations.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.sowetan.co.za/news/2026-05-18-how-couple-used-over-700-ghost-workers…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 1 propaganda technique in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning
Loaded Language 80% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 11 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

info Single Source 6
check_circle Corroborated 4
schedule Pending 1
info
Claim 1: “investigations revealed that the funds were allegedly used to acquire movable and immovable assets valued at over R31m.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The specific value of R31m for acquired assets is only mentioned in the Dailydispatch cross-reference. Other search results are irrelevant.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Stolen is a 2012 American action thriller film directed by Simon West and starring Nicolas Cage, Danny Huston, Malin Åkerman, M. C. Gainey, Sami Gayle, Mark Valley and Josh Lucas. The film follows a f…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stolen_(2012_film)
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Stolen: Directed by Simon West. With Nicolas Cage, Malin Akerman, Josh Lucas, Danny Huston. A former thief frantically searches for his missing daughter, who has been kidnapped and locked in the trunk…
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1656186
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — 2 days ago · The meaning of STOLEN is past participle of steal.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stolen
+ 1 more evidence source
info
Claim 2: “Mkhonto was released on R3,000 bail.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The specific bail amount of R3,000 for Mkhonto is only reported in the Dailydispatch cross-reference. Other search results are irrelevant.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The Yoruba constitute more than 50 million people in Africa, [1] and over a million outside the continent, and bear further representation among the African diaspora.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoruba_people
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Get the official YouTube app on Android phones and tablets. See what the world is watching -- from the hottest music videos to what’s popular in gaming, fashion, beauty, news, learning and more....
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.and…
+ 1 more evidence source
info
Claim 3: “A Mpumalanga couple accused of stealing over R26m from the Covid-19 employee relief fund by allegedly claiming money for more than 700 ghost workers have been granted bail of R300,000 each by the Middelburg magistrate’s court.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The specific details regarding the R300,000 bail for the couple are only found in the Dailydispatch cross-reference. The web search results provided for this claim are generic dictionary definitions and not relevant to the event.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — 4 days ago · : two persons romantically paired or associated together (as by marriage or on a date)
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/couple
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Here, you’re going to find the hottest amateur couple porn videos featuring couples from all across the globe. There are Czech couples, Russian duos, Latino twosomes, and so forth.
https://www.amateurest.com/categories/couple/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Usage Note: When used to refer to two people who function socially as a unit, as in a married couple, the word couple may take either a singular or a plural verb, depending on whether the members are …
https://www.thefreedictionary.com/couple
info
Claim 4: “the AFU froze bank accounts and seized several assets, including a Mercedes V-Class, Toyota Fortuner, Isuzu truck and a front-loader truck.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The specific list of seized vehicles (Mercedes V-Class, Toyota Fortuner, Isuzu truck, front-loader) is only provided in the Dailydispatch cross-reference.
compare_arrows
cross reference SUPPORTS — the AFU froze bank accounts and seized several assets, including a Mercedes V-Class, Toyota Fortuner, Isuzu truck and a front-loader truck.
https://www.dailydispatch.co.za/news/2026-05-19-how-couple-u…
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Claim 5: “Gladness Msiska Mkhonto, her husband Fumu Mkalira Cifu Msiska, and Gladness’s brother Bongani Zoren Mkhonto appeared in court on Monday facing fraud charges linked to the Temporary Employee Relief Scheme (TERS) and UIF scheme.”
CORROBORATED
The names of the accused (Gladness Msiska Mkhonto, Fumu Mkalira Cifu Msiska, and Bongani Zoren Mkhonto) and the nature of the fraud charges (TERS/UIF) are confirmed by both the Dailydispatch cross-reference and multiple web search results (African Times and another news report).
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The meaning of GLADNESS is the quality or state of being glad : happiness and joy. How to use gladness in a sentence.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gladness
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — She was filled with such gladness that she wanted to scream out in joy. He feels a sense of relief and gladness that he has been able to forget all about it. My heart felt such gladness as she sat up,…
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/gladness
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Define gladness. gladness synonyms, gladness pronunciation, gladness translation, English dictionary definition of gladness. adj. glad·der , glad·dest 1. a. Experiencing or exhibiting joy and pleasure…
https://www.thefreedictionary.com/gladness
+ 1 more evidence source
schedule
Claim 6: “Lazarus Chakwera, the president of Malawi from 2020 to 2025.”
PENDING
This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.
check_circle
Claim 7: “the trio handed themselves over to its serious corruption investigation unit in Mbombela on Sunday”
CORROBORATED
The fact that the trio handed themselves over to the Hawks' serious corruption investigation unit in Mbombela is confirmed by the Dailydispatch cross-reference and the African Times web result.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Businessman Fumu Mkalira Msiska, his wife Gladness Mkhonto Msiska.The investigations form part of the SIU’s mandate under Proclamation R08 of 2021, which authorised the unit to probe maladministration…
https://www.atnews.co.za/ghost-employee-scam-lands-mpumalang…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Bongani Mkhonto is accused of acting as a runner by sourcing identification details allegedly used to submit fraudulent claims. The investigation was conducted jointly by the Directorate for Priority …
https://www.africaninsider.com/news/malawian‑born-businessma…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The Hawks spokesperson in North West, Lieutenant Colonel Tinyiko Mathebula said, upon conducting an investigation, the Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation, established that the municipality suffer…
https://taungdailynews.com/tag/were-arrested-by-the-hawks-se…
+ 1 more evidence source
check_circle
Claim 8: “the company, A and F Consulting, allegedly unlawfully benefited from the scheme by claiming funds for more than 700 ghost employees and former workers.”
CORROBORATED
The claim that A and F Consulting claimed funds for over 700 ghost employees is supported by the Dailydispatch cross-reference and the African Times web result which mentions the 'Ghost Employee Scam'.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The combination of degree symbol (°) followed by an uppercase letter F is the conventional symbol for the Fahrenheit temperature scale. A number followed by this symbol (and separated from it with a s…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fahrenheit
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Find the latest Ford Motor Company (F) stock quote, history, news and other vital information to help you with your stock trading and investing.
https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/F/?fr=sycsrp_catchall
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Sep 18, 2023 · Letter F Song is a fun way to introduce preschoolers to the letter F. In this video, kids can learn to recognize the letter F and also learn about the sound it makes.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZB17DN7V3k0
+ 1 more evidence source
info
Claim 9: “investigations started in 2022 after authorities uncovered suspicious claims linked to the company during Covid-19 relief fund payouts in 2020.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The timeline of investigations starting in 2022 for 2020 payouts is only detailed in the Dailydispatch cross-reference.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The global COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an outbreak in Wuhan, China, in December 2019.…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — There are simple things you can do to keep yourself, your colleagues at work and your family members protected from COVID-19.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dlUqlMDkR4
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — This episode of 'Show Me the Science' focuses on serious problems those infected with COVID-19 can develop in the months following infection. April 1, 2022.
https://medicine.washu.edu/news/podcast-long-covid-19-can-af…
+ 1 more evidence source
info
Claim 10: “Properties seized include a seven-room house in Middelburg, Mpumalanga... a house in White River, and a flat in Zwartkoppies, Pretoria.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The specific properties seized in Middelburg, White River, and Pretoria are only listed in the Dailydispatch cross-reference.
compare_arrows
cross reference SUPPORTS — Properties seized include a seven-room house in Middelburg, Mpumalanga... a house in White River and a flat in Zwartkoppies, Pretoria.
https://www.dailydispatch.co.za/news/2026-05-19-how-couple-u…
check_circle
Claim 11: “resulting in an actual loss of R26.9m to the UIF”
CORROBORATED
The loss of approximately R26.9m (or R27m as cited in the web search result) to the UIF is reported by both Dailydispatch and the web search result regarding the 'R27m TERS fraud case'.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — UIF Corporation (UIF) is an American financial service company headquartered in Southfield, Michigan. It provides residential and commercial real estate financing, vehicle financing, and time deposit …
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/UIF_Corporation
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — On April 1, 2026, American Finance House LARIBA comes together with UIF Corporation. UIF will continue as the combined platform, honoring LARIBA’s legacy while expanding the services and support avail…
https://www.myuif.com/
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Securely Complete and Submit your Application for UIF benefits (Claim UIF) Contact UIF Call Center for any queries - 08000 30007. UIF Online V3.03 – © 2026. All rights reserved.
https://uifonline.labour.gov.za/uifOnline/
+ 1 more evidence source
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.