M ani rose to national prominence after an NSFAS payment error in 2017 saw R14 million mistakenly deposited into her student account. She went on to spend more than R800,000 on clothing, parties, and luxury items before the error was detected. In 2022, she was convicted of theft and initially sentenced to five years in prison. That sentence was later overturned on appeal and replaced with a suspended sentence and community service.

Now, images and posts shared widely on X (formerly Twitter) claim Mani has completed her studies and graduated with honours from WSU, sparking intense public debate across the country. As of publication, no official statement has been issued by Walter Sisulu University, and the reports remain unconfirmed.

The news has reopened long-standing divisions over Mani’s case. Supporters argue she became a convenient scapegoat in a system riddled with large-scale corruption, noting that far bigger NSFAS-related scandals have resulted in few high-profile convictions. Critics, however, maintain that the conviction was justified and that personal accountability should not be blurred by broader institutional failures.

Legal experts have previously described the case as unusual but lawful, while civil society organisations pointed to it as a stark illustration of poor financial controls and governance failures within South Africa’s higher education funding system.

Whether viewed as a redemption story or an unresolved controversy, Mani’s reported graduation has once again thrust the NSFAS saga back into the national spotlight — underscoring unresolved questions about justice, inequality, and accountability in post-apartheid South Africa.

This story is developing. Readers are advised to treat the information as provisional pending official confirmation from Walter Sisulu University or relevant authorities.