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Mail & Guardian reports that the lack of court transcripts have “unreasonably delayed” the sentencing of Daniel Mthimkhulu almost seven months after the former Passenger Rail Agency of SA (Prasa) head engineer was convicted of fraud.
On Monday, it emerged in the Johannesburg specialised commercial crimes court, sitting in Palm Ridge, that the court records for January, the month in which Mthimkhulu was convicted on three fraud counts, had not been transcribed for the new magistrate presiding over the bogus engineer’s sentencing. Magistrate Benita Oswell convicted the fraudster on 31 January, before emigrating. Magistrate Phillip Venter replaced her as Mthimkhulu’s presiding officer. Oswell’s emigration necessitated the transcription of the court record, including the judgment, in order for Venter to begin sentencing proceedings. Mthimkhulu was convicted, among other things, for submitting six fraudulent tertiary education qualifications to Prasa, including a fake master’s degree from the University of the Witwatersrand; misrepresenting that he had a doctorate; and demanding that he be referred to as “Dr Mthimkhulu” despite a matric certificate being his highest qualification. He also forged an offer letter of employment from a German engineering firm in June 2010 to illegally get his Prasa salary hiked from R1.6-million to R2.8-million. His pay was only R64,530 when he began as an engineering technician in July 2000. Mthimkhulu, whose bail was extended, will return to court next month.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Khaya Koko at Mail & Guardian
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