Sfiso Ncwane and Rebecca Malope's conman arrested

South Africa's top gospel artists Sfiso Ncwane and Rebecca Malope have had their prayers answered after an alleged conman they had reported to the police was finally arrested.

Ncwane and Malope had opened separate cases with the Midrand police in October last year claiming that someone had cloned their cellphone numbers and used their names to con people out of money.

A 31-year-old man is in police custody facing fraud charges after being denied bail by the Johannesburg Commercial Crimes Court on Wednesday.

Midrand police spokeswoman Matome Tlamela confirmed that a man handed himself in on Monday and was now languishing in police cells while awaiting his next court appearance.

According to a police statement, the suspect's modus operandi was to call unsuspecting people and claim to be the singers' friend.

"The suspect would do sim swaps of the cellular telephone numbers of his victims. He would obtain the numbers from the CDs of the singers concerned. After doing the sim swaps he would call the friends of the singers and inform them that the singer has been arrested for driving under the influence of liquor and he or she needed money for bail or to bribe police officials.

"The friend of the singer would then be asked to deposit the money at Shoprite Money Market. The suspect would then go to Shoprite and withdraw the money. Sometimes he would get someone else to make the withdrawal for him," said the statement.

In another instance, police allege that the suspect called one of Ncwane's friends and claimed that the Kulungile Baba hitmaker was arrested for speeding.

"... he obtained a cellular telephone number of a friend of Sfiso Ncwane by using means which are currently unknown to the state. The suspect then called Sfiso's friend and told him that Sfiso had been arrested for speeding and was at Jeppe SAPS. The friend believed the person he was talking with had been asked by Sfiso to make the call because the suspect used a number which was known to the friend.

"The suspect told his victim that members of the SAPS wanted a bribe of R3100. The victim believed the story and deposited the money at Shoprite Money Market."

In Malope's case, police say the suspect used WhatsApp to con the gospel queen's friends and family.

"After doing the fraudulent sim swap he communicated with friends of hers via WhatsApp and told them that Malope had been arrested and needed financial assistance. Some of the people with whom the suspect communicated deposited money into bank accounts nominated by the suspect. We are in the process of obtaining statements from the people who deposited money into the suspect's account as well as other accounts nominated by him.

"The suspect also communicated with promoters who wanted Rebecca to perform at concerts. He pretended to be Rebecca and informed promoters that her banking details had changed. The suspect then provided his own account number into which promoters were required to pay fees for the planned concerts. The full extent of the financial as well as other forms of losses suffered by Rebecca is yet to be established," read the police statement.

Police told the court during the man's failed bail application that he was previously convicted and sentenced for fraud in July last year.

Ncwane was delighted when Sunday World broke the news to him about the man's arrest.

"That's good news. I also wish to see that person and talk to him," Ncwane said.

Malope could not be reached for comment.