When a 51-year-old Free State woman fell for a 32-year-old Ugandan man, she did not know that she would end up in hospital two months later, battling depression and being hundreds of thousands of rand in debt.
Lesego* said she fell in love with her Ugandan boyfriend, Junior Bashiru, and just wanted to help him with his business venture.
However, she did not know he was an alleged scammer who would disappear with her money, which included loans she had convinced her sister and a colleague to take out for her. “I was admitted to hospital for at least a month,” she said.
“I’m living on antidepressants. I’m paying back my colleague’s loan at R6,500 every month, and my sister now wants to sell her house so that we can pay off some of the loans. I’m embarrassed and hurt. I still can’t believe what happened and what I have put the people around me through.”
Lesego is one of Bashiru’s alleged victims. He has been named as a person of interest in two separate fraud cases involving two women who were allegedly defrauded of nearly R900,000.
Free State police are looking for him.
Lesego said she met Bashiru at a mall in Bloemfontein at the end of December, and they began a relationship in February. “At first, I was a bit apprehensive because he was younger than me, but the more we spoke, the more convinced I became,” she said.
I am embarrassed and hurt. I still can’t believe what happened and what I have put the people around me through
— Lesego*, romance scam victim
Towards the end of the month, Bashiru claimed he was involved in an accident and asked her for R10,000 to fix his vehicle.
Lesego said she did not think much of it at the time because Bashiru had sent her pictures of himself in hospital and photos of the broken windows of a Range Rover, and so she gave him the money.
In mid-March, she said, Bashiru told her he was working on a big project that required R600,000 to install computer laboratories at schools.
He asked Lesego for further financial support, claiming he only had R300,000, and she agreed to help him.
She took out a R60,000 loan and asked her sister and a colleague for the remaining cash. “I told them that I was the one who needed the money because I was about to start a big project myself and that I would pay them back. They believed me,” Lesego said.
“My sister took out a R90,000 loan, and my colleague took out a R150,000 loan.”
Lesego gave the money to Bashiru.
“The problem came when he left for Zeerust [North West]. He said he needed to collect equipment there that would help him complete the project. This was in early April. He said he would leave and return the following morning.”
She said the next day she received a call saying Bashiru had been arrested.
“A person claiming to be a police officer from Rustenburg said I needed to send R40,000 through CashSend to have him released,” she said.
Lesego said she did not have the money and decided to sell her car for R16,000, despite it being worth much more.
“I was really desperate and could only take what was being offered at the time. I then took out loans from loan sharks in the area to make up the remaining amount,” she said.
“After I sent the money, I never saw him again. I tried calling him, but there was no answer. I also tried calling the alleged police officer, but there was nothing.”
Crime expert Mpho Matlala from the College of Law and School of Criminal Justice at Unisa said romance scams are linked to affirmations, whether emotionally or psychologically.
“People are always looking for affirmation... they want a sense of belonging, they want to be loved, and they want to love someone,” he said.
“This is when people become vulnerable because you become an easy target when you are lonely.”
Matlala said scammers deliberately isolate their victims and avoid becoming properly integrated into their lives.
“If a person maintains complete privacy and it is only them and you while constantly showering you with affection and romance, yet you know nothing about their family, friends or favourite hangout spots, those are serious red flags,” he said.
“People need to create practical vetting mechanisms for themselves. Insist on meeting friends and family members and seeing their favourite places. Most importantly, do a background check.”
Free State police spokesperson Sgt Palesa Thabana says anyone with information that could help trace Bashiru should call Const Neo Mothekhe on 064-039-6968 or Crime Stop on 08600-10111.
*Not her real name.
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