Iuze Mukube
A 53-year-old woman, convicted of defrauding a private school of more than N$2.8 million, told the Windhoek High Court yesterday that she has turned away from her former gambling habits to more positive activities while in prison.
Convicted fraudster Maria Johanna Coetzee, while testifying in mitigation before sentencing, told Acting Judge Makapa Simasiku that “I am done with gambling”.
Before making the remarks, Coetzee testified that she had suffered a long period of mental illness due to childhood sexual abuse.
She said she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, along with major anxiety and depression stemming from her childhood trauma.
In addition, she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and epilepsy.
She told the court that she was suffering from these conditions and was also on medication at the time she committed the offense.
The former finance manager said she began having a gambling problem in 2018 and used the stolen money to support her addiction.
She testified that she was at the time experiencing episodes of anxiety and depression, and attempted to end her life more than once.
She admitted that she found comfort in gambling because of the euphoria it gave her and that it helped her distract her mind from negative thoughts.
She added that she became a pathological gambler because she struggled to control or detach herself from the situation, which in this case is addiction.
Coetzee admitted that, since her arrest in 2019, she has not gambled, mostly because she did not have money and she was in prison, but also because she learned more positive things.
She added that the disappointment felt from her family and friends ensured that she changed her life, and now she does not feel the need to gamble.
“The thought of messing up my life and disappointing my family and friends is too much. It was too much, and she would not do it again,” she said.
She added, “I am done with gambling. It has destroyed my life, and I want to start all over again”.
Coetzee admitted that she also stopped gambling after she allegedly fled to South Africa.
She stated it was there when she realised what she had done and that the guilt was weighing heavily on her.
She felt remorseful for the money she had stolen and for society, realising that she had not set a good example after serving in financial management for 27 years.
She added that this is her first offence, as she has never stolen from her employers before.
“To Windhoek International School, I would like to apologise for my handling of things and stealing money when I was in an entrusted position,” she testified.
“I am not the same person I used to be,” she said, pointing out she has a passion for helping young people not to make the same mistake she did.
She has published two books on Amazon.com, titled ‘The Price of Freedom’ and ‘Through the Eyes of a Sensitive Soul’, the second book focusing on the effect of sexual abuse and post-traumatic stress disorder.
“The guilt is killing me every day. I am just relieved that the matter is coming to an end and for me to start paying back the money,” she told the court.
She repaid N$267 000 to the private school. Coetzee was tried on 18 counts of fraud, alternatively 12 counts of theft, six counts of attempted theft and a charge of money laundering.
She transferred N$2.8 million from the school’s accounts into her personal accounts and disguised the transfers as legitimate payments to creditors.
Her lawyer Janita von Wielligh submitted a request for a fair sentence of six years’ imprisonment for the 18 counts and two years for money laundering, with a three-year suspension.
The State, represented by Timo Itula, submitted for a sentence of 14 years imprisonment for the 18 counts and six years for money laundering.
The sentence will run concurrently.
The matter will resume today.
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