South African Railway Official Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Faking Qualifications and Fraud

A former top official at South Africa’s state-owned passenger railway company, Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA), has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for faking his engineering qualifications and engaging in other cases of fraud. Daniel Mtimkulu, 49, was convicted of three counts of fraud and forgery in 2022 and was ordered to pay back $323,000 to PRASA.

Mtimkulu, who was the head of engineering at PRASA, was arrested in 2015 shortly before he resigned. He was convicted of fabricating a master’s degree from a university in South Africa and a doctorate in engineering management from a university in Germany, neither of which were true. He also faked a job offer from a German company, which resulted in his salary being increased from around $90,000 a year to $155,000 a year.

As head of engineering, Mtimkulu was involved in a deal worth more than $100 million to buy dozens of new train locomotives from Spain, which were found to be too tall for South Africa’s rail network and couldn’t be used. The big-money contract was one of several at PRASA that have been linked with alleged bribes and kickbacks.

Investigators have said that there was rampant corruption and mismanagement at some of South Africa’s biggest state-owned businesses between 2009 and 2018. A report last week by a special unit investigating high-level corruption said that more than $7 billion may have been lost to graft at some of those state-owned companies, including PRASA.

Mtimkulu’s sentence sends a strong message that corruption and fraud will not be tolerated in South Africa’s state-owned companies. The case highlights the need for greater transparency and accountability in the management of these companies, and the importance of ensuring that officials are qualified and honest in their work.