Johannesburg - Former Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) executive manager Daniel Mthimkhulu appeared at the Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Thursday for sentencing.
Mthimkhulu was convicted on three counts of fraud for allegedly misrepresenting his qualifications. Hawks spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mogale told The Star that the matter was postponed to July 31.
"This was for the presiding officer and defence to familiarise themselves with the case, as the previous presiding officer resigned and subsequently emigrated," she said.
Last year, Mthimkhulu was convicted on charges including nine counts of fraud for allegedly misrepresenting his qualifications to Prasa, claiming, among others, to have acquired a Master’s degree from the University of Witwatersrand as well as a Doctorate in Engineering Management from the Technische Universitat Munchen (Munich Technical University) in Germany.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), as a result of this misrepresentation the rail agency suffered prejudice in that Mthimkhulu’s annual salary was hiked from R1.6 million as executive manager heading the engineering services to R2.8.
According to the NPA, in June 2010, he lied to Prasa about a job offer received from a German engineering firm for a position as an engineering services specialist at a salary of R2.8m per annum. Consequently, Prasa made Mthimkhulu a counter-offer in September 2010 at a salary of R2.8m.
In an interview with eNCA in 2019, Mthimkhulu said that he indeed did not have a PhD and that he had failed to correct the perception that he did, it was just something of a nickname that people attached to him, referring to him as Doctor.
"I did a lot of research work with Stellenbosch University and other universities in Germany," he said. He said that he did have a diploma in engineering that he obtained at the Vaal University of Technology.
Mthimkhulu said that he had joined the entity in 1998 as a trainee assistant engineer, and that he had moved through the ranks of Prasa since then and received a promotion in 2010 because of his vast work experience, along with competencies and skills he had acquired while working at Prasa.
Mthimkhulu also explained his salary increase, saying that a German company had given him an offer and he was ready to take it and leave the entity.
"At that time, Prasa felt that they needed somebody who could fulfil certain key projects," he said.
He denied that the letter from the company was fake, and presented documents to the news broadcaster that suggested otherwise.
Mthimkhulu says that the court overlooked these issues, and that is what he feels is unfair as the letter was presented by Prasa’s attorneys.
The Star