Cape Town — The Hawks have arrested the spokesperson for the Eastern Cape’s Department of Health spokesperson, Sizwe Kupelo, on charges of fraud, forgery, and uttering.
According to a SAPS statement, Kupelo (47) was arrested on Wednesday and made a short appearance in the Zwetlisha Magistrate’s Court where he was released on R30 000 bail.
According to Hawks spokesperson, Warrant-Officer Ndiphiwe Mhlakuvana, Kupelo applied for employment as a Communication Officer at the Premier’s office in Bhisho in March 2002. Later that year, he was appointed by the Department of Health in Bhisho as Deputy Director of Communications.
“It is further reported that in 2020, the Department of Health conducted a skills and qualifications audit on all employees appointed by the Department where it was established that during the time of his employment, Kupelo never had a matric certificate. He instead allegedly submitted a fraudulent certificate during his employment.” Mhlakuvana said.
Eastern Cape health department spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo was arrested by the Hawks on Wednesday for allegedly submitting a falsely certified copy of his matric certificate to secure his appointment as deputy director of communications. Kupelo handed himself over and was granted…
— Grootman 🇧🇷 🇷🇺 🇮🇳 🇨🇳 🇿🇦 (@MJ_Mahlaela) April 25, 2024
Kupelo’s lawyer, Asanda Pakade, described the charge sheet as malicious and said the case would not make it to trial, TimesLIVE reported.
“There is absolutely no case here … We are confident it will collapse,” he said.
According to SABC News, the Eastern Cape Health Department said it welcomed good, clean governance following Kupelo’s arrest.
“This is now a criminal matter handled by the elite crime-fighting unit, the department cannot and will not comment further on the matter. The department will cooperate with any investigation that seeks to strengthen the integrity of the services that we render to the people of the Eastern Cape,” Health Department spokesperson, Mkhululi Ndamase, said.
Kupelo is set to reappear in the same court on 30 April 2024 for Regional court date.
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
