Within days after news broke that the well-known scholar and intellectual, Prof Muxe Nkondo, had died, fraudsters attempted to scam people into contributing towards his funeral. However, the family did not request any such contributions, and the money collected is being directed to the fraudsters' bank accounts.
Family spokesperson, Mr Joe Mathebula, confirmed on Wednesday that they were alerted to the scam, where fraudsters use the family's name to ask unsuspecting close friends, relatives, and community members to deposit money into a bank account to assist with funeral arrangements.
"We can confirm that we became aware of this scam early on Tuesday (21 August). This is very disturbing to us as a family," he said. Mathebula condemned what he described as "nefarious acts by dubious individuals who have no shame whatsoever." He added that it is disgraceful that some people would seek to exploit the family's and the country's grief for their selfish interests.
"We condemn this shameful act in the strongest terms, and we warn beloved members of the community not to fall prey to these scammers. We have not mandated anybody to fundraise for the family," he said.
Mathebula further indicated that funeral arrangements were progressing smoothly as planned. "Once again, we express our sincere appreciation for the continued show of love and support through your messages. The first memorial service was already held at the University of South Africa on Wednesday, 21 August," he said.
The second memorial service takes place today (Thursday) and is a joint one organized by the University of Limpopo and Univen. It starts at 11:00 at the University of the North.
The funeral service will be held at Freedom Park in Pretoria on Friday, 23 August, and Prof Nkondo will be laid to rest at the Rebecca Cemetery next to Tshwane University of Technology.