Mmlutsi Mokwai jailed for faking qualifications in order to get the highest job in the Free State Department of Health. Image: Hawks
(The Post News)- On Tuesday 17 September 2024, Free State Department of Health deputy director Mmulutsi Mokwai made a brief appearance in the Bloemfontein Magistrates Court. Mokwai faces charges of fraud in which he is alleged to have fake his qualifications in order to get promotion.
The charges were brought against him by the Hawk’s Serious Commercial Crime Investigation Unit in Bloemfontein.
According to the media statement released by the Hawk’s provincial spokesperson, Warrant Officer Fikiswa Matoti, the Hawks received information that Mokwai allegedly presented fraudulent qualifications and a temporary driver’s licence when he was appointed by the department in 2021.
“A thorough investigation into the matter was launched, which confirmed that Mokwais electrical engineering diploma and degree certificates were fraudulent. As a result, the Department of Health was prejudiced and suffered a monetary loss to the amount yet to be confirmed,” says Matoti.
The provincial head of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks), Maj Gen Mokgadi Bokaba has praised authorities in the department for reporting the fraud. “Such misrepresentation is viewed in a serious light, especially in a country where unemployment rate and poverty are high. Someone qualified may be sitting at home unemployed”, she said.
However, the residents have expressed their views about the fraud that takes place when some people are getting hired. “The Human resource personnel must be arrested for not verifying the qualifications. There’s no way a candidate in the highest position like this can apply with fake qualifications that are not even being verified,” says a resident who didn’t want to be identified for his safety.
Mokwai was granted R2 000,00 bail and is expected to appear in the Bloemfontein magistrate’s court on 28 October 2024.
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