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Bethuel Ngobeni had just buried his father three days before, when police knocked on his small rural home in Mpumalanga in 2021, to question him about crimes he had allegedly committed in Gauteng.
Ngobeni, an unemployed man who lives on a R350 grant and casual jobs, had never travelled outside of his province.
The man the cops were looking for was not only the flashy kingpin of an alleged illicit gold trading syndicate, it would emerge he had built his illegal mining empire in Carletonville using Ngobeni’s stolen identity for years.
Mozambican-born Zingai Dhliwayo allegedly stole Ngobeni’s ID number and name, and stayed in SA as a citizen while buying up properties and cars, allegedly from proceeds of illicit gold trading amounting to millions of rand.
Dhliwayo is on trial, together with eight other accused after their arrests following an extensive undercover operation by the Hawks to infiltrate their syndicate.
So flashy was his lifestyle that in just seven months in 2020 Dhliwayo, using Ngobeni’s identity, went on a shopping frenzy – splashing R4.2m on six cars and two homes, according to the National Prosecuting Authority.
Meanwhile, from his modest home made out of rusted corrugated iron, with no ceiling and a pit toilet, Ngobeni had no clue that his name was registered in high-end car dealerships in Gauteng.
This is until one afternoon in May 2021, three days after the burial of his father, he and his mother, Thandi Ngobeni, 58, were basking in the sun outside their Dwarsloop home in Bushbuckridge, when Hawks officials arrived.
Ngobeni, 38, said they were greeted by two Hawks officials who asked to see Bethuel Ngobeni.
"After I responded that the person was me, they then showed me an ID copy and pointed at the picture, and they asked if I knew the person. I told them I didn't know the person they just showed me. They [Hawks] asked for my ID. I went inside the house to collect it and came back. They then compared the ID number with mine and it was a match," he said.
Only the picture was different.
Ngobeni said the officials told him the person pictured had committed crimes in Gauteng using his identity.
"They didn't say what did he do, I also didn't ask. They then drove with me to the nearest police station. When we got there, I saw them talking among one themselves [Hawks members and police at the station]. I was just standing there folding my arms and then after a while, they asked that I sign some papers, and I did. I didn't ask them why I was signing," he said.
Ngobeni told Sowetan that he was shocked by what the police had told him about his identity being used.
"I have never travelled outside Nelspruit [the city closest to his home] and have never been in Gauteng. I have been using this ID since I applied for it in 2005. I have never opened an account or used my ID to make lay-bye, and I have also never lent anyone my ID, I have had this ID since the time I applied for it," he said, showing his green ID book.
Ngobeni's mother, a recent window at the time, was shocked by what the police had told her son.
"I don't even remember if they were walking or driving because I was still grieving, and they made the pain worse. I was shocked by what they said, and it was the first time police come to my house.
"I have never received any complaints that my son has abused or harassed anyone. A pick-up [police van] has never come to my house to look for 'Tumelo waka' [my Tumelo, Bethuel's other name]," she said.
The pair rely on the social relief grant (R350) and meagre income from odd jobs. The mother does other people's laundry while Ngobeni does gardening work in the neighbourhood.
The family doesn't have much except for old furniture and an old deep freezer.
Meanwhile Dhliwayo, through his alleged proceeds of crime, had built a name for himself in Khutsong, buying each of his two wives homes, which were later renovated to stand out in opulence among mostly indigent neighbours.
One of his wives Lerato Bathabeng, also arrested, was known for flaunting her lavish lifestyle on TikTok, posing with expensive champagne bottles while in the background, colourfully decorated furniture with a big screen TV was a prominent feature in many of her videos.
Most of Dhliwayo’s assets and others including more cars and properties brought by his co-accused have since been seized by the state. They are expected to be auctioned.
Dhliwayo, who has been in custody since October 2022, is expected back in court with his co-accused on September 2 for trial.
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