Lunga Nkrumah Sivuka, aged 41, was arrested in Mthatha on Monday 20th at his residence. He appeared in the Mthatha Specialised Commercial Crimes Court same day, where he was charged with fraud.
The arrest comes after he allegedly lied about his qualifications and defrauded the Eastern Cape department of education. He got released out on a R5 000 bail.
The case has been postponed to April 25, 2023.
According to the provincial spokesperson for the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks), Captain Yolisa Mgolodela, the arrest was made by members of the Hawks’ serious corruption investigation team based that is based in Queenstown.
“It is alleged that in 2020, the department of education advertised an educator’s post at Corana Junior Secondary School,” Mgolodela said.
Mgolodela also mentioned that, “The advertisement clearly stated what qualifications were required and the accused allegedly submitted his application for the post stating that he obtained his Bachelor of Education qualification in 2017 from Walter Sisulu University in Mthatha.”
According to Mgolodela, it was later established that the accused, Mr Sivuka, had not in fact passed his examination and could not have completed the qualification he allegedly claimed to have had obtained.
Mgolodela said that Investigations that were made further revealed that the accused lied about his qualification thus causing an actual prejudice of more than R500 000 to the department of education.
Major General Obed Ngwenya, the provincial head of the Hawks, applauded the team for their swift response.
