Fall of ‘Dr’ Mthimkhulu — Prasa’s former head engineer sentenced to 15 years for falsifying qualifications

For five years, Daniel Mthimkhulu was celebrated as one of SA’s leading engineers during his tenure as an executive at the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa).

Articles were written about his “hard-earned success” and he became a poster boy for black excellence and the ANC-led government’s successes.

Years later, thanks to whistle-blowers and investigative journalism, Prasa’s former head of engineering has been unmasked as a fraud who lied about his qualifications.

On his CV, Mthimkhulu claimed he had obtained a national diploma in mechanical engineering from the Vaal University of Technology, a “degree in mechanical and maintenance engineering” from the University of the Witwatersrand and a doctorate in engineering management from the Technical University of Munich in Germany.

In reality, he has only a matric certificate.

Warning to fraudsters

On Tuesday, he was sentenced to 15 years of direct imprisonment by the Johannesburg Specialised Commercial Crimes Court, sitting in the Palm Ridge Magistrates’ Court. The sentencing comes after he was convicted in January 2022 on three counts of fraud.

Senior State advocate Sithembiso Bhengu argued that Mthimkhulu’s actions had a detrimental impact on ordinary South Africans who missed out on potential benefits from the funds he fraudulently received from Prasa and caused significant reputational damage to the entity.

He said there were no circumstances that justified the imposition of a lesser sentence and that Mthimkhulu had not taken responsibility or shown remorse for his dishonest conduct.

Mthimkhulu led the Prasa team that in 2013 acquired 13 locomotives from Spain for R600-million that were too tall for South Africa’s rail infrastructure.

Read more: Gravy trains: Prasa’s ‘Dr’ Daniel Mtimkulu helped sister’s company pocket R57m for ‘non-existent’ work

Spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority, Phindi Mjonondwane, said: “The court took into account the seriousness and prevalence of fraud, the significant financial loss to Prasa and Mthimkhulu’s betrayal of his employer’s trust.

“His false qualifications and the direct impact on Prasa, as well as the large amount involved, were also considered.”

Mthimkhulu was remanded in custody.

Mjondondwane confirmed that Mthimkhulu’s legal team said it would apply for leave to appeal against the judgment.

Acting Cosatu spokesperson Zanele Sabela said, “This sentence sends a clear message to would-be fraudsters that falsifying qualifications is not a victimless crime and will not be tolerated. Mthimkhulu’s involvement placed Prasa’s projects under considerable risk and exposed the entity to liability it could not have foreseen.

“Workers have paid a price for the costs of this fraudster’s appointment. As head of engineering, Mthimkhulu was involved in massive capital projects at Prasa.

“He was found to be central to the procurement of trains too tall for South African train stations and lines. The costs to address this by raising platforms will be massive and borne by taxpayers. The resulting delays in rolling out the new trains are paid for by workers and the economy, [which is] in desperate need of an efficient and affordable commuter rail network.”

Salary hike

The affair dates back to 1 April 2010, the day Mthimkhulu was promoted to be the rail operator’s head engineer. The position required, as a minimum, an engineering diploma or degree.   

For 63 months, Mthimkhulu masqueraded as a top engineer, deliberately and fraudulently inducing Prasa to pay him an additional R7,072,281.04 over that period. That equates to a gross salary of R112,258.43 per month.

Read more: Prasa’s fake ‘Dr’ Mthimkhulu doctored his own CV and raked in millions 

In September 2010, Mthimkhulu provided Prasa’s then CEO, Lucky Montana, with a fraudulent letter offering Mthimkulu a position as an engineering services specialist at the German company DB Schenker.

The letter promised an annual salary of €200,000, equivalent to R2,800,000 at the time. To retain Mthimkhulu, Prasa matched this offer, nearly doubling his previous annual salary of R1,650,000, according to court documents, Daily Maverick reported.

Read more: Politicians’ qualification scandals within a forever wounded education system – it’s complex and complicated

In March this year, the Asset Forfeiture Unit obtained an order to seize Mthimkulu’s assets to pay Prasa more than R5.5-million from the fraudulently obtained salary hike.

In an interview with eNCA four years ago, Mthimkhulu admitted that he had lied about his qualifications.

“I admit that I do not have a PhD, and I failed to correct the perception that I have it. I just became comfortable with the title. I did not foresee any damages as a result of this.”

In the same interview, he claimed: “I did quite a lot of research work with the University of Stellenbosch and other universities in Germany.” DM