Daniel Mthimkhulu, the former chief engineer at South Africa’s state-owned Passenger Rail Agency (Prasa), has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for forging his qualifications. Mthimkhulu, who once held a prominent position in the rail company, had falsified his credentials, claiming to have earned a degree from the University of Witwatersrand and a doctorate from a German university. In reality, he had only completed high school.
He had also forged a job offer letter from a German company, which encouraged Prasa to increase his salary so the agency would not lose him.
Mthimkhulu’s deception lasted for five years during his tenure as Prasa’s head of engineering, earning him an annual salary of 2.8 million rand ($156,000; £119,000). His lies began to unravel in 2015, leading to his arrest. He was also involved in a 600 million rand train deal from Spain, which proved to be a costly failure when the trains were discovered to be too high for South African railways.
The Johannesburg court noted the serious nature of his fraudulent actions, with the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson, Phindi Mjonondwane, noting that the sentence sends a strong message against white-collar crime. She said, “The sentence sends a strong message that the perpetrators of white-collar crime will not go unpunished.” Mthimkhulu’s betrayal of his employer’s trust, along with the significant financial loss to Prasa, was highlighted during sentencing.
In a 2019 interview, Mthimkhulu admitted to not having the PhD he claimed, stating, “I failed to correct the perception that I have it. I just became comfortable with the title.”
South Africa’s Hawks police unit, which was instrumental in the prosecution, welcomed the court’s decision. Lt-Gen Seswantsho Godfrey Lebeya, head of the unit, commented, “This should serve as a lesson to would-be fraudsters that crime doesn’t pay.”
The Hawks said this was a case linked to “state capture”, a term used in South Africa to describe widespread corruption that occurred under Jacob Zuma when he was president from 2009 until 2018.
This case has sparked further conversation about the country’s hiring processes. Critics argue that Mthimkhulu’s fraudulent qualifications reflect broader administrative failings, with some questioning why qualification verification systems are not more widely used in South Africa.
“Daniel Mthimkhulu’s story is proof of a failing administration system,” one X user posted. “Not a lot of companies use qualification verification systems… We definitely have a lot more people working with fraudulent qualifications than we think.”
Mthimkhulu is reportedly planning to appeal his sentence.
Melissa Enoch
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