Fake CV qualifications resulted in a 15-year sentence for a former South African rail chief engineer

Daniel Mthimkhulu, a former head engineer for the South African rail system, received a 15-year sentence for falsifying his resume.

Former head engineer Daniel Mthimkhulu of the state-owned Passenger Rail Agency (Prasa) in South Africa received a 15-year prison sentence for falsifying his credentials. Mthimkhulu had fabricated his qualifications, saying he had a doctorate from a German university and a degree from the University of Witwatersrand. He had previously had a significant position in the rail company. He had barely finished high school, in actuality.

In order to keep Prasa from leaving the agency, he also faked a letter of employment offer from a German company.

While serving as Prasa’s head of engineering, Mthimkhulu deceived people for five years, during which time he was paid 2.8 million rand ($156,000; £119,000). In 2015, his lies started to come apart, which resulted in his arrest. Additionally, he was a part of a 600 million rand train contract from Spain that ended in financial ruin when it was found that the trains were too tall for South African lines.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson, Phindi Mjonondwane, stated that the sentence sends a strong message against white-collar crime. The Johannesburg court emphasized the seriousness of his fraudulent conduct. “The sentence conveys a strong message that the offenders of white-collar crime will not go unpunished,” the speaker stated. During sentence, Mthimkhulu’s betrayal of his employer’s confidence and the substantial financial damage to Prasa were brought to light.

Mthimkhulu acknowledged he did not possess the PhD he stated in a 2019 interview, saying, “I neglected to correct the idea that I have it. I recently started to feel at ease with the title.

The Hawks police unit in South Africa, which played a significant role in the case, applauded the court’s ruling. The head of the unit, Lt-Gen Seswantsho Godfrey Lebeya, stated, “This should serve as a lesson to would-be fraudsters that crime doesn’t pay.”

The Hawks said that this case was connected to “state capture,” a phrase used in South Africa to characterize massive wrongdoing that took place during Jacob Zuma’s presidency from 2009 to 2018.

This case has spurred additional discussion on the nation’s employment practices. Some question why certification verification mechanisms are not more commonly employed in South Africa, while others contend that Mthimkhulu’s bogus qualifications are a reflection of larger administrative shortcomings.

One X user wrote, “Daniel Mthimkhulu’s story is proof of a failing administration system.” Few businesses make use of qualification verification systems. More people than we realize are undoubtedly employed with fictitious credentials.

According to reports, Mthimkhulu intends to appeal his conviction.