By Anita Dangazele
- Nurse Cinga Dyantyi was shocked to find his matric certificate details allegedly copied and used by health official Sizwe Kupelo.
- State claims Kupelo earned over R18-million in government salaries using a forged qualification to secure senior communications positions.
A nurse was stunned to discover his matric certificate may have been copied in a massive government fraud case involving Eastern Cape health official Sizwe Kupelo.
In a statement read at East London Special Commercial Crimes Court, nurse Cinga Dyantyi said he had never lost his matric certificate and couldn’t understand how his details appeared on another document.
Dyantyi said he and Kupelo were classmates at school but were shocked when he saw what appeared to be his own certificate being used by someone else.
“He was my classmate at Mkhankatho, but at CH Bokeni High we were not in the same class. Much though we were kind of friends, I do not know where he went to do his matric,” said Dyantyi.
“When I was looking at his certificate, his subjects and symbols were looking exactly like mine. At the bottom of his certificate, there was a barcode that looked exactly like mine. I do not know how this happened and I was shocked to see it.”
Prosecutor Siphamandla Ngxokolo told the court that Dyantyi works as a nurse at Mthatha General Hospital and confirmed he attended the same school as Kupelo.
The state accuses Kupelo of faking his National Senior Certificate and using it to get lucrative government jobs.
He allegedly started with a post as media liaison in the office of the premier in 2001, then moved to deputy director of communications in the health department in 2002.
According to the charge sheet, Kupelo earned more than R18-million during his career based on the forged qualification.
The state claims he knowingly submitted a fake certificate and failed to reveal he did not meet the minimum education requirements for the high-paying positions.
Kupelo has been the face of the Eastern Cape health department for years, regularly appearing on television and radio as the official spokesperson.
An internal hearing earlier found Kupelo not guilty of the charges, but the criminal case is still ongoing.
Pictured above: Eastern Cape Department of Health Communications Deputy Director Sizwe Kupelo.
Image source: Facebook
