Learner Says He Got Nothing From R12 000 Drive — Organiser Defends Every Cent Spent

Concerns over accountability and transparency in community donations have been raised by reports that an 11th-grade student at Thembeka Secondary School in Ekurhuleni, South Africa, has not received any of the aid promised through a fundraising campaign started in his memory.

Sipho Dlamini, 17, went back to school on Tuesday with the same worn-out rucksack he had when the fundraising campaign began four months prior. The teenager says he didn’t receive any money, school uniform, shoes, or stationery, even though the campaign supposedly raised R12,000 between March and June.

Speaking at a weekend community event in Tembisa, Dlamini clarified that no one had been in touch with him following the circulation of a promotional flier with his picture on it in local WhatsApp groups. According to reports, a community fundraising website akin to GoFundMe and WhatsApp broadcast lists were used to promote the campaign.

The initiative’s coordinator, Nompumelelo Khumalo, refuted the teen’s story. At the meeting, she provided a spreadsheet outlining what she considered to be acceptable campaign costs, such as R2,100 for printing, R3,600 for volunteer branded T-shirts, and R4,200 for venue rental for two awareness events.

Concerns about how the gifts were gathered, handled, and used have been raised by the contradictory stories. Following a formal complaint filed on July 14, members of the Tembisa Community Policing Forum stated that investigators were reviewing financial documentation given by both sides.

Khumalo allegedly promised that every rand received will go straight to Dlamini, according to locals who attended the campaign launch in March. On local WhatsApp groups, screenshots of donation appreciation messages with the teen’s name have also gone viral, escalating demands for an explanation of how the funds were managed.

Residents have been especially agitated by the situation because Dlamini’s financial problems are allegedly still unsolved. Zanele, his mother, used a needle and fishing line to fix his broken school shoes last month so he could continue going to school.

In 2023, Bongani Nkosi, a ward councillor, reported that three complaints about unofficial fundraising efforts in the region were still pending.

In the meantime, the ward office’s offer to mediate between the two families has not been taken, and no impartial auditor has examined the campaign’s full financial records.

Residents are calling for accountability and transparency to determine what happened to the donations meant to help the adolescent while the investigations are ongoing.

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