Daily Sun (October 15 2013) - NOBODY KNEW that the lonely gogo was walking around with a fortune next to her body. It was only after she died that her amazing secret was revealed . . . THERE, IN THE STITCHING OF HER DRESS, THEY FOUND THOUSANDS OF RANDS!

"We couldn't find her ID book so we searched her dress," neighbour Christina Mthimunye (51) told Daily Sun. "We felt crumpled papers all over the dress and undid the stitches. We were shocked to find she had R35 000 on her body!"

It appears that every time Lettie Mkhatshwa (81), from Two Line Village near Siyabuswa, Mpumalanga, got her pension money she would sew another pocket on her dress and stitch the money into it. No one knew she was carrying all the money with her - even when thugs broke into her house twice they never got hold of gogo Lettie's money.

The gogo's secret was only revealed on Friday morning when her concerned neighbours went to look for her after she had not been seen for over a week.

"She lived with her sister but the sister died two years ago. The old lady didn't have any friends," said Christina. "We never saw anyone visiting. The only time we saw her leave her yard was on pension day."

While Christina and her neighbour Johanna Mathebula were looking for her ID book, they found the money. They also found her green book.

Johanna said Lettie was lying on the floor. "She told me once that after her sister died she also wanted to go," said Johanna. Christina and Johanna said they would use the money to give the gogo a decent funeral.

Police spokesman Colonel Leonard Hlathi said an inquest docket was opened and the cops were investigating.

- The South African Banking Risk Information Centre advises people to carry on them as little cash as they possibly can, to avoid becoming victims of cash robberies.

See the Daily Sun mobi site for more on this and other stories....

The Daily Sun is South Africa's largest daily newspaper with an average circulation of 287 222 (Audit Bureau of Circulations 2nd Quarter 2013) and a readership of 5.7m (as per AMPS 2012ab). Its Facebook page can be accessed here. It can be followed on Twitter here. To find about advertising on the Daily Sun click here.

Issued through the Politicsweb iService