Olwethu Xabanisa
The Defense and the State will only argue on the application for leave to appeal by convicted thief Sibongile Mani on the 29th of this month.
Mani, who is still a student at Walter Sisulu University, was sentenced to five years of direct imprisonment in the East London Regional Court late last month.
She immediately filed for leave to appeal both conviction and sentence for stealing more than R800 000 from the R14 million that was mistakenly deposited into her NFSAS account in 2017.
The 31-year-old mother-of-two appeared briefly in the same court on Monday with her supporters, wearing "Free Sibongile Mani" t-shirts.
Nasional Prosecuting Authority (NPA) regional spokesperson Luxolo Tyali confirmed that she will remain out on bail.
He says the State was only furnished with the necessary documents by the defence on Monday.
The Leader of the 'Justice for Sibongile Mani Support Group' - Vusi Mahlangu - said they would be mobilising more support for the accounting student whom they believe was wrongly convicted in the first place.
Mani was sentenced to five years subject to the provisions of Section 276 (1) i. of the Criminal Procedure Act.
That effectively means that she will serve 10 months of the sentence in custody after which, subject to the discretion of the Commissioner of Correctional Services, she may be released on supervision.
In her sentencing judgment, East London Regional Court Magistrate, Twanett Olivier, said Mani was driven by greed and not need and questioned why she never explained to the court what had happened to all the luxury items she bought.
Mani's shopping spree spanned 76 days, where she splurged R170 000 at a shop in Centurion on a single day and later another R17 000 at Shoprite in George.
The court heard that she bought copious litres of alcohol, cartons of cigarettes, airtime, Checkers gift cards, a slow cooker, several items of clothing, framed mirrors, 11 microwaves, 12 cordless Kettles, 24 jackets, iTunes gift cards, 6 steam irons, several handbags, 5 hairdryers and 8 frying pans.
She also spent money on hair and make-up.
