By STAFF REPORTER
6 July 2026 – Former financial administrator (43) at Kathu High School, who was arrested for fraud, forgery and uttering, remanded in custody until 7 July 2026, for formal bail application. The accused, Maria Jessica Kuhn was arrested by the Hawks’ Serious Commercial Crime Investigation team working together with their counterparts from Serious Organised Crime on 2 July 2026, at her place of residence in Kathu, near Kuruman.
The Hawks spokesperson, Lieutenant Colonel Tebogo Thebe said Kuhn who previously served as a financial administrator at Kathu High School, is accused of embezzling school funds to the tune of R4.6 million rands. Thebe said the modus operandi included creating separate private banking accounts, where school funds were diverted.
“Financial discrepancies were identified in October 2025, when an audit detected irregularities in the school’s financial records. The stolen funds included normal school fees and donor amounts, which are used to pay School Governing Body (SGB) teacher’s salaries.
“The Directorate’s investigation revealed that the accused created fictitious invoices purporting to be legitimate school suppliers and authorised payments which went to her private account and for her benefit. Allegations are, the accused further paid herself overtime, despite the school’s policy prohibiting such payments,” he said.
The Guardian 